In his essay, "The Poet," Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that the poet's task was to make "imperfect transcripts" of nature's "primal warblings," and so it is no surprise that American poets have often turned to the songs of birds to hear a language "commensurate with a people" (Whitman) and with the American experience. In particular, they turn to the family of North American thrushes, which includes the American Robin, Wood Thrush, Hermit Thrush, and Veery, among others, as well as the closely related Mimic Thrushes: the Mockingbird and Catbird. And with only a little poetic license, we will add the Ovenbird, thrush-like in appearance and behavior, and often found in the same mid-forest setting as the Wood and Hermit Thrushes.

Gathered below is a bird by bird anthology of attempts, in poetry and prose, to "transcribe" the song of the New World. And here is an essay and a few excerpts exploring the rationale behind this anthology:

• "Thrush Music: American Poet-Naturalists and the Poetics of Loss" by DL

• "Imperfect Transcripts," an excerpt from "The Poet" by Ralph Waldo Emerson

• "A Bard Commensurate," an excerpt from the 1855 Preface to Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

• "Spring Songs," an excerpt from Specimen Days by Walt Whitman

• "A Wilder, Lovelier Song," an excerpt from "The American Background" by William Carlos Williams