MISTLE-THRUSH. I95 



Stone anvil. The family parties keep together after the breeding 

 season, and later form into flocks, which feed in the open fields 

 with other thrushes ; these flocks are often scattered over the 

 hill pastures, and strip the mountain-ashes in the doughs. 



The fork of a tall forest tree is a common site for the large 

 conspicuous nest, which is at times built of noticeable material, 

 even strips of paper. It is at varying height from the ground, 

 often in quite a low tree or bush ; in treeless districts it may be 

 on the ground, in a stone wall, or in a quarry (Plate 82), on 

 the coast in a crack in the cliff face, or on rocks only a few feet 

 above high-water mark. The usual materials are grass, moss, 

 roots and wool, with a lining of caked mud, and a soft inner 

 lining of grass ; one nest on the clitTs was entirely built of sea- 

 weed and lichens, so closely harmonising with its surroundings 

 that it was the sitting bird and not the nest which caught my 

 eye. The bird nests early, and eggs are sometimes laid in 

 February, but the first nests are often destroyed by storms. 

 Mr. S. G. Cummings found a bird sitting in a reconstructed 

 nest twelve days after the first had been blown out ol" the tree. 

 In the late spring of 1917 a pair began to build on March 18 

 — in this case both birds certainly took a share — but before the 

 lining had been added the nest was filled with snow. When this 

 had melted and drained away the birds continued the work, but 

 a second time were delayed by snow ; by April 8, however, the 

 persevering birds had not only finished but were sitting, though 

 snow was piled high on the edge of the nest, entirely hiding the 

 sitter. A second brood is often reared. The eggs (Plate 79) 

 are greenish or brownish white, blotched and speckled with 

 purple-brown and violet-grey. 



The upper parts are ashy brown, the under huffish white with 

 conspicuous oval dark brown spots. The bill is brown, horn at 

 the base ; the legs pale brown and the irides dark brown. 

 There is little difference between the sexes or in the colour after 

 the autumn moult ; there is no real moult in spring. The young 



