CATALOGUE OF BIRDS, I 23 



CASE 23, 



SONG - THRUSH, MISTLE - THRUSH, 



BLACKBIRD, FIELDFARE, REDWING, 



ROBIN. 



Order, Passe^-es. Family , Turdid<2. 



Song-Thrush. 

 Who is not acquainted with the notes of this 

 bird's enchanting song in the early hours of the 

 spring- days '^ Howard Saunders says : " The much 

 admired song, characterized by a distinct repetition 

 of its three or four component notes, may be heard 

 on a warm bright day very early in the year, 

 continuing- till the moulting-season, and beinof often 

 resumed in autumn ; it is frequently uttered on fine 

 nights." This bird nests early in March, rearing 

 two to three broods, in regard to which, the same 

 author says : " The well-known nest, with its water- 

 tight lining of rotten wood and dung, is generally 

 placed in the middle of a thick bush or among ivy, 

 and not infrequently in a moss-covered bank ; the 

 eggs — four to six, are of a shining greenish-blue, 

 blotched with black or rusty-brown. Its food — nine 

 months of the year — wild berries, insects, worms, 

 and snails, — in summer time a good deal on fruit." 

 This species is resident, but its numbers are supple- 

 mented by a good many others which come over 



from the Continent in late autumn. 



12 



