THE PERCHING BIRDS. 



133 



bygone generation, since Brown has a note on the subject 

 in his (1833) edition of White's ' vSelborne.' It all depends, 

 I siipi)Ose, on the exact distinction between song and noise, 

 which would seem to be more or less a matter of taste. 



The mistle-thrush nests early in the year, the nest, which 

 is usually placed in the fork of an oak, being in most years 

 finished by the third w^eek in February, if not sooner. At 



this season the bird becomes shy and silent. Lined with 

 grass and mud, and placed, as a rule, 10 or 12 (I have 

 found them at only 4) feet from the ground, few nests 

 of the size are more easily overlooked. Eggs, 4, rather 

 over I inch; greenish, with red spots and lines. Two 

 broods are reared in exceptionally fine seasons— rarely, 

 however, in Scotland. 



