178 EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Probably few other British birds' nests exceed in picturesque- 

 ness the home of this Thrush. There is a peculiar rustic beauty 

 about it which few others possess. As in the nest of the Blackbird 

 (as indeed in those of all the Thrushes), it undergoes three distinct 

 stages before completion : First, the outside is composed of grass, 

 chickweed, bog-moss, and often large masses of wool, through 

 which are artfully woven a few slender twigs to strengthen the 

 sides of the structure ; this nest is lined with mud or clay and, 

 lastly, a very thick lining of grass, usually in a green state, com- 

 pletes the work. No attempt at concealment is made ; indeed it 

 seems that the birds rather court discovery than otherwise ; for it 

 is no uncommon thing to see a large piece of wool hanging loosely 

 from a nest, or a portion of the nest itself so lightly put together 

 as to cause it to arrest the attention at once. 



The eggs of the Mistle Thrush very rarely exceed four in 

 number, and in but very few cases are less. They are somewhat 

 different from the typical Thrush's egg, being of a greyer tinge. 

 The ground-colour ranges from bluish-white to reddish-brown, 

 spotted, blotched, and clouded with various shades of rich purplish- 

 brown and with greyish underlying spots. They vary in length 

 from 1*32 to 1'03 inch, and in breadth from 0'94 to 0'8 inch. 



THE SONG THBUSH. 



(Turdus musicus.) 



Plate 50, Fig. 2. 



The Song Thrush breeds throughout Great Britain and Ireland 

 in all well-cultivated districts, or where the ground is sufficiently 

 wooded to afford it shelter. Its breeding-range extends across 

 the Palaearctic region from the Atlantic as far east as the valley 

 of the Yenisei, but the bird is much commoner in the west than 

 in the east. 



The nest is a bulky structure, and composed outwardly of dry 

 grass, with generally a few twigs and sometimes a little moss. 

 This grass-formed nest is then lined with a thick coating of mud 

 or clay, and sometimes cow's dung, with decayed wood as a 

 final lining. 



The eggs of the Song Thrush are four or five in number, and 

 may readily be distinguished from those of any other species of 



