BIRDS OF THE BUFFALO BASlN*. 75 



On the oroiind the thrush stands with raised head and 

 drooping tail, alert for any approaching danger ; if satisfied 

 that all is well, the bird lowers its head and raises its tail 

 and proceeds in a half-hop, half-run style over the grass, 

 halting ever and anon to cast a suspicious glance around or 

 to catch sight of the end of a worm })rotruding from its 

 burrow. Presently the thrush makes a shaip spring at its 

 unsuspecting prey, and then fairly doubles itself up as, by a 

 series of sudden jerks, it coaxes the stubborn worm from its 

 hole; at a slight movement on the obser\^er's part the bird 

 is otf, restless creature that it is, with a lowly-uttered "tsit'' 

 to the shelter of a bush or tree. 



The shyness of the thrush is in great measure assumed, 

 for, once the bird has chosen its feeding ground, it will 

 return to the spot agiiin and again, even though at every 

 alarm — real or imagined — it may seek a place of safety. 



Being mainly a ground-feeder, the Cape Thrush frequently 

 fails a victim to the boys' traps ; it is apparently unable to 

 resist the tempting caterpillar bait, and as mimy as ten 

 thrushes have been brought to me by the boys in the course 

 of a week. This species, however, varies its diet with fruit 

 in its season, and obtains berries from the trees by snatching 

 them off in flight. 



The Cape Thrush would not be true to his name were he 

 not a songster. All the yenr round, with the exception of 

 the midwinter month of June, he makes tlie forest ring 

 before sunrise and again after sunset with his captivating 

 outbursts of song. His bold, far-carrying notes — the main 

 phrase of which may he variously rendered as " doik}', 

 doiky " or " Do right I Do right ! " — may occasionally be 

 heard during the day also ; but they do not, during the heat 

 of the day, produce the same charm as at dawn and at dusk. 



The alarm of the species, a loud bold note several times 

 repeated, resembles that of the northern blackbird and is 

 occasionally uttered under similar circumst:nices, — as when a 

 bird, that has been flying silently along the border of some 

 undergrowth, is at the end of the sheltering fence driven out 

 into the open and dashes off with a screech. 



