"However the world goes ill,
The Thrushes still sing in it."
The Mocking-bird of the North, as the Brown Thrush has been called,
arrives in the Eastern and Middle States about the 10th of May, at which
season he may be seen, perched on the highest twig of a hedge, or on the
topmost branch of a tree, singing his loud and welcome song, that may be
heard a distance of half a mile. The favorite haunt of the Brown Thrush,
however, is amongst the bright and glossy foliage of the evergreens.
"There they delight to hide, although not so shy and retiring as the
Blackbird; there they build their nests in greatest numbers, amongst the
perennial foliage, and there they draw at nightfall to repose in warmth
and safety." The Brown Thrasher sings chiefly just after sunrise and
before sunset, but may be heard singing at intervals during the day. His
food consists of wild fruits, such as blackberries and raspberries,
snails, worms, slugs and grubs. He also obtains much of his food
amongst the withered leaves and marshy places of the woods and
shrubberies which he frequents. Few birds possess a more varied melody.
His notes are almost endless in variety, each note seemingly uttered at
the caprice of the bird, without any perceptible approach to order.
The site of the Thrush's nest is a varied one, in the hedgerows, under a
fallen tree or fence-rail; far up in the branches of stately trees, or
amongst the ivy growing up their trunks. The nest is composed of the
small dead twigs of trees, lined with the fine fibers of roots. From
three to five eggs are deposited, and are hatched in about twelve days.
They have a greenish background, thickly spotted with light brown,
giving the whole egg a brownish appearance.
The Brown Thrush leaves the Eastern and Middle States, on his migration
South, late in September, remaining until the following May.
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