She forgot even her sorrow at the sharp report of his gun and the piteous sight of thrushes and sparrows dropping silent to the ground , their songs hushed and their pretty feathers stained and wet with blood .
Our winter visitors , including swans , short-eared owls , meadow larks and shrikes , are departing for their breeding grounds , while swallows , warblers , hummingbirds , thrushes and other species are arriving for the nesting season here .