Painted

1911

Published

1929

Volume

12

Plate

754

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Townsend's Solitaire

Myadestes townsendi

DESCRIPTION

Far, far, far in the hills
Watching the clouds go by.
Fly — fly — flying around
Under a wide, wide sky.

Here, here, here is peace,
Quiet and joy and rest.
Where, where, where the winds
Waver firs of the west.

Less tender perhaps than the Hermit's song but more sustained, the notes of a SOLITAIRE given from tip of a conifer by a quiet mountain stream are attuned to the high places where it lives. When great clouds gallop above the Sierras the song rings out free and wild as the racing cumuli. Then when evening comes, the lay changes to a low exquisite warble. Birds are poets, sensitive to Nature's moods.

Perhaps the Solitaires which Bailey writes about, singing in Garden of the Gods, were reincarnated souls of Nuns who from their gray throats were releasing music, silenced by convent walls of earth.

The Solitaire, except for an occasional song during the nesting season, is silent, reflecting his surroundings to a remarkable degree — a dim gray spirit of a bird flitting quietly through arched aisles of the coniferous forests. He is the reigning genie of the shadowy nooks, the remote solitudes; his favorite haunts the dark cathedral-like groves of alpine firs, ranging downward into the sunnier, more open pineries of the lower Sierras. He prefers the calm margin of a dreaming lake rather than the swift tumult of rivers, a sheltered cove in a quiet place to commotion and din. One does not discover the Solitaire through any effort on his part to make himself conspicuous or a nuisance like the jay, nor when his solitude is invaded does he resent your presence by scolding or chatter. His is rather a disposition at once sweet and tolerant; you take to him instantly and he accepts you at your true value, going about his business in his ordinary shy manner, showing neither distrust nor fear unless startled by an abrupt movement or loud sound.

So rare a singer is the Solitaire that during my mountain rambles, extending over a period of thirteen years, I have heard the song on only five occasions, which will long be remembered from the nature of the surroundings and the delightful melody of this dweller in the silent places. The first time was in the forenoon of one of those bright, exquisite days of early spring at Lake Tahoe, when the warring elements had declared a truce and were at rest for a time. The little shadowy canyon where I rested enjoyed a hushed and solemn tranquility not diminished, but rather added to, by a drowsy murmuring from a bright brook splashing on its way to the lake. This, I thought, could be none other than the haunt of a Solitaire, and I wished that I might see the bird; and as in answer to my prayer came one, a small gray ghost of a bird that flitted silently in and out the leafy corridors of its retreat, finally resting on the limb of a pine not ten feet away. And as I watched, the feathers of his breast and throat rose with a song that softly echoed the beautiful voices of the brook, the gurgling of eddies, the silvery tinkle of tiny cascades, and the deeper melody of miniature falls. Infinitely fine and sweet was the rendering of mountain music. At times the song of the bird rose above the sound of the water in rippling cadences not shrill, but in an infinite number of runs and modulated trills, dying away again and again to low plaintive whispering notes suggestive of tender memories. I know of no bird song with which it can be compared except that of the Water Ousel. But the song of the Ousel is sung to the accompaniment of wilder waters; nothing less than the raging thundering cataracts of larger streams will do for him.

Another memorable occasion was at daybreak, after an interminable night without blankets at a high altitude. The great summit peaks of the Sierras, distinct against the western sky, had just begun to glow with the first delicate rose-tints of the dawn, while the forests mantling their granite flanks stood misty and somber and still above dead banks of snow. Suddenly, breaking the silence, came faintly the notes of a Solitaire, growing stronger with the light like the first low tentative laughter of a little alpine streamlet set free from ice. The same sweet notes that I remembered, clear as the drip from icicles, as spontaneous as the songs of mountain streams.

Sunny open glades in the woods, rather than the more secure shelter of dense forests, are usually selected by the Townsend Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi) for nesting purposes. Five nests which I have examined were thus situated in open or thinly forested areas surrounded by very dense woods, and were found more by accident than design, the birds flushing as I passed by. Their behavior when thus disturbed is in harmony with their quiet disposition; by their actions they show a tender solicitude, but not one of the five pairs of birds, when I was in the vicinity of their nests, uttered a single note of complaint or acted as if in great distress or fear. —Hanford.

BREEDING

NEST usually in hole on stream bank. Foundation built of disintegrated vegetable trash and nest proper of finely woven grasses forming a neat shallow cup.

EGGS, 3 to 6, greenish or bluish white blotched with pale chestnut and lavender.

RANGE

Western North America. Breeds in Boreal zones from east central Alaska, southwestern Mackenzie and western Alberta south thru Sierra Nevada to San Bernadino mountains, California and thru the Rockies to Arizona and New Mexico. Winters from southern British Columbia and Montana southward, straggling to central Texas, Kansas and Illinois. Accidental in New York.

Red Haw

Crataegus mollis

DESCRIPTION

A tree sometimes reaching 40 feet in height with a trunk 18 inches in diameter, distributed in the rich bottom soil of streams in northern Ohio to eastern Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.

townsends-solitaire
cactus-wren-bryant-cactus-wren-san-lucas-cactus-wren
Cactus Wren, Bryant Cactus Wren, San Lucas Cactus Wren
713-713a-713b
rock-wren-san-nicolas-rock-wren-guadalupe-rock-wren
Rock Wren, San Nicolas Rock Wren, Guadalupe Rock Wren
715-715a-715b
white-throated-wren-canyon-wren-dotted-canyon-wren
White-Throated Wren, Canyon Wren, Dotted Canyon Wren
717-717a-717b
carolina-wren-florida-wren-lomita-wren
Carolina Wren, Florida Wren, Lomita Wren
718-718a-718b
bewick-wren-vigor-wren-baird-wren
Bewick Wren, Vigor Wren, Baird Wren
719-719a-719b
san-clemente-wren-guadalupe-wren
San Clemente Wren, Guadalupe Wren
719.1-720
texas-wren-san-diego-wren-seattle-wren
Texas Wren, San Diego Wren, Seattle Wren
719c-719d-719e
house-wren-western-house-wren
House Wren, Western House Wren
721-721a
winter-wren-western-winter-wren-kadiak-winter-wren
Winter Wren, Western Winter Wren, Kadiak Winter Wren
722-722a-722b
alaska-wren-aleutain-wren
Alaska Wren, Aleutian Wren
723-723.1
short-billed-marsh-wren
Short-Billed Marsh Wren
724
long-billed-marsh-wren-tule-wren
Long-Billed Marsh Wren, Tule Wren
725-725a
worthington-marsh-wren-western-marsh-wren-prairie-marsh-wren-marian-marsh-wren
Worthington Marsh Wren, Western Marsh Wren, Prairie Marsh Wren, Marian Marsh Wren
725b-725c-725d-725e
brown-creeper-mexican-creeper
Brown Creeper, Mexican Creeper
726-726a
rocky-mountain-creeper-california-creepeer-sierra-creeper
Rocky Mountain Creeper, California Creeper, Sierra Creeper
726b-726c-726d
white-breasted-nuthatch-slender-billed-nuthatch-florida-white-breasted-nuthatch
White-Breasted Nuthatch, Slender-Billed Nuthatch, Florida White-Breasted Nuthatch
727-727a-727b
rocky-mountain-nuthatch-san-lucas-nuthatch
Rocky Mountain Nuthatch, San Lucas Nuthatch
727c-727d
red-breasted-nuthatch
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
728
brown-headed-nuthatch
Brown-Headed Nuthatch
729
pygmy-nuthatch-white-naped-nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch, White-Naped Nuthatch
730-730a
tufted-titmouse
Tufted Titmouse
731
black-crested-titmouse-sennett-titmouse
Black-Crested Titmouse, Sennett Titmouse
732-732a
plain-titmouse-gray-titmouse-ashy-titmouse
Plain Titmouse, Gray Titmouse, Ashy Titmouse
733-733a-733b
bridled-titmouse
Bridled Titmouse
734
chickadee-long-tailed-chickadee
Chickadee, Long-Tailed Chickadee
735-735a
oregon-chickadee-yukon-chickadee
Oregon Chickadee, Yukon Chickadee
735b-735c
carolina-chickadee-plumbeous-chickadee-florida-chickadee
Carolina Chickadee, Plumbeous Chickadee, Florida Chickadee
736-736a-736b
mexican-chickadee
Mexican Chickadee
737
mountain-chickadee-bailey-mountain-chickadee
Mountain Chickadee, Bailey Mountain Chickadee
738-738a
alaska-chickadee
Alaska Chickadee
739
hudsonian-chickadee-acadian-chickadee
Hudsonian Chickadee, Acadian Chickadee
740-740a
chestnut-backed-chickadee-california-chickadee-barlow-chickadee
Chestnut-Backed Chickadee, California Chickadee, Barlow Chickadee
741-741a-741b
bushtit-california-bushtit-grinda-bushtit
Bushtit, California Bushtit, Grinda Bushtit
743-743a-743b
lead-colored-bushtit-lloyds-bushtit
Lead Colored Bushtit, Lloyd Bushtit
744–745
verdin-cape-verdin
Verdin, Cape Verdin
746-746a
wrentit-pallid-wrentit
Wrentit, Pallid Wrentit
747-747a
coast-wrentit-ruddy-wrentit
Coast Wrentit, Ruddy Wrentit
747b-747c
golden-crowned-kinglet
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
748
western-goden-crowned-kinglet
Western Golden-Crowned Kinglet
748a
ruby-crowned-kinglet
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
749
sitka-kinglet
Sitka Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
749a
dusky-kinglet
Dusky Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
749b
blue-gray-gnatcatcher-western-gnatcatcher
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Western Gnatcatcher
751-751a
plumbeous-gnatcatcher-black-tailed-gnatcatcher
Plumbeous Gnatcatcher, Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher
752-753
townsends-solitaire
Townsend’s Solitaire
754
wood-thrush
Wood Thrush
755
veery
Veery
756
willow-thrush
Willow Thrush
756a
gray-cheeked-thrush-bicknells-thrush
Gray-Cheeked Thrush, Bicknell’s Thrush
757-757a
russet-backed-thrush
Russet-Backed Thrush
758
olive-backed-thrush
Olive-Backed Thrush
758a
alaska-hermit-thrush
Alaska Hermit Thrush
759
audubons-hermit-thrush
Audubon’s Hermit Thrush
759a
hermit-thrush
Hermit Thrush
759b
dwarf-hermit-thrush-monterey-hermit-thrush-sierra-hermit-thrush
Dwarf Hermit Thrush, Monterey Hermit Thrush, Sierra Hermit Thrush
759c-759d-759e
robin
Robin
761
western-robin-southern-robin
Western Robin, Southern Robin
761a-761b
san-lucas-robin
San Lucas Robin
762
varied-thrush
Varied Thrush
763
northern-varied-thrush
Northern Varied Thrush
763a
wheatear-greenland-wheatear
Wheatear, Greenland Wheatear
765-765a
bluebird
Bluebird
766
azure-bluebird
Azure Bluebird
766a
western-bluebird
Western Bluebird
767
chestnut-backed-bluebird
Chestnut-Backed Bluebird
767a
san-pedro-bluebird
San Pedro Bluebird
767b
mountain-bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
768

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