Wood Thrush singing in Central Park today
Photo by David Speiser -5/18/09

"All that is ripest and fairest in the wilderness is preserved and transmitted to us in the strain of the wood thrush. This is the only bird whose note affects me like music, affects the flow and tenor of my thoughts, my fancy and imagination. It lifts and exhilarates me. It is inspiring. It is a medicative draft to my soul."

Henry David Thoreau
Journal entry for June 22, 1853