May 8, 2011 - Woodland Songster
Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

American nature writer, John Burroughs, described the wood thrush as a handsome species. “He is a poet in every word and deed.” Henry David Thoreau considered the wood thrush to have the most beautiful song of North American birds. Male wood thrushes sing two notes at once, giving their song an ethereal, flute-like sound. Last summer I listened to a vocal duel as two males defended their territories in a woodland. Separated by a creek both birds attracted a mate. One female thrush built her nest in a tall shrub beside the trail. The other chose a sapling more distant from the path. The songs of both males wafted through the forest, a pleasure to hear. Unfortunately, wood thrush numbers are declining in the east due to forest fragmentation.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.