The song of the canyon wren is the sound of falling water. Its bright tones fall off the canyon rim from ledge to ledge a step at a time. Sliding down a pour-off bouncing off a sandstone shelf, then dropping to the next layer of stone and down again - a falling scale, eight tones, a liquid octave of birdsong in the hand, sun-cut canyon.

Holdfast: At Home in the Natural World, The Song of the Canyon Wren (p. 75), The Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, Connecticut, USA. 1999