THRUSHES 



3D 



In the tall hedgerows which skirt our English 

 pastures the Blackbird is constantly seen, finding 

 food in the hips and hawthorn berries, and seclu- 

 sion for its nest in the thicker recesses. It is notice- 

 able for its way of starting from the hedgerows, 

 with a loud, quivering alarm cry, and after darting 

 for some little distance, suddenly turning at right 

 angles and regaining its shelter. It is a late bird 

 to go to roost. In the dusk of a summer's night 

 one is often startled by a dark form winging its way 

 suddenly through the gloom, uttering the while its 

 querulous notes, long after even the chattering 

 Sparrows in the ivy and the silently moving Robins 

 have retired to rest. 



Great differences of opinion exist as to the relative 

 values of the songs of the Blackbird and the Song 

 Thrush. Some authorities take a somewhat low 

 view of the Blackbird's skill. Yarrell, for example, 

 states that its notes are more remarkable for power 

 than for compass or variety, and further, that they 

 have a somewhat melancholy effect, and are too 

 frequently repeated. Others, again, proclaim it as 

 the very prince of musicians, and dilate upon the 

 masterly ease and fluency of its melodies, far exceed- 

 ing, to their minds, those of the Song Thrush, and 

 inferior only to those of the Nightingale. 



It may be noted here that in the spring the 

 Blackbird frequently continues its song as it flies 

 from tree to tree, and like the Song Thrush, may 

 occasionally be heard singing upon the ground. 



The Redwing, being strictly a winter visitor, 

 does not breed in these islands, although instances 



