AMERICAN THRUSHES. 17 



of hard crumbs of bread; if very small it will 

 swallow them as they are ; if larger it will pick 

 them up and carry them to the water dish, and 

 drop them in the water, wait until they are 

 moistened, then take them out, and, if they are 

 very large, pick them to pieces ; the others they 

 will swallow, as there is now no danger of their 

 hurting their gullet, or sticking in their pas- 

 sage down. This I have often been an eye-wit- 

 ness of, and so may any person who has one of 

 those birds in his possession. Is this reason, or 

 is it instinct? At all events it is exactly what 

 we would do, if placed under the same circum- 

 stances. 



FOOD. Meal and milk, and a bit of scraped 

 beef, two or three times a week ; berries in the 

 summer, and black currants in the winter. They 

 should have plenty of gravel in the bottom of the 

 cage, or in a box, as they are fond of dusting 

 themselves in it, like the Sky Lark. This bird 

 suffers severely in the moulting; they should 

 then have more nourishing food, which all birds 

 require when in that state. Give them a few 

 meal worms, if you have them, if not a few 

 ground worms. Change their meal to bread and 

 milk twice a week, and give them berries and 

 ripe apple. 



