I found it
afterwards to be a common bird in the scattered woods of the
campo district near Santarem. It is a much smaller and plainer-
coloured bird than our thrush, and its song is not so loud,
varied, or so long sustained; but the tone is of a sweet and
plaintive quality, which harmonises well with the wild and silent
woodlands, where alone it is heard in the mornings and evenings
of sultry tropical days. In course of time the song of this
humble thrush stirred up pleasing associations in my mind, in the
same way as those of its more highly endowed sisters formerly did
at home. There are several allied species in Brazil; in the
southern provinces they are called Sabiahs. The Brazilians are
not insensible to the charms of this their best songster, for I
often heard some pretty verses in praise of the Sabiah sung by
young people to the accompaniment of the guitar.
I found several times the nest of the Carashue, which is built of
dried grass and slender twigs, and lined with mud; the eggs are
coloured and spotted like those of our blackbird, but they are
considerably smaller.
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