BLACK THRUSH, OR BLACKBIRD. 85 



in the shelter of trees or bushes. At this season its food con- 

 sists principally of snails, especially Helix aspersa and H. nemo- 

 ralis, the shells of which it breaks by raising them in its bill, 

 and dashing them against a stone or other hard surface. It 

 also occasionally breaks them open by pecking against the spire, 

 in which the shell is much thinner. Like many other birds, 

 however, it has a great range of food. Thus, having opened 

 five individuals, I found in the stomach of one a great quantity of 

 seeds and husks of gramineae, including wheat and oats ; in 

 that of another, coleopterous insects ; in that of a third, coleop- 

 tera, and seeds of various kinds ; in that of the fourth, mollusca, 

 and fragments of shells ; in that of the fifth, seeds, mollusca, 

 and a few grains of gravel. Earthworms, larvae, berries, and 

 seeds of various kinds I have also observed in the stomachs 

 of numerous individuals wdiich I have opened. 



It is amusing to observe a Blackbird searching for food on the 

 smooth green of a garden, which one may easily do from the 

 window without being noticed. In December 1832 I watched 

 one in order to note its motions. After looking quietly at a par- 

 ticular spot for some time, it hopped up, began to peck the ground 

 with great energy, and after some exertion, succeeded in drag- 

 ging out a worm of moderate size, which it immediately threw 

 on the ground. It then pecked at the worm for nearly a minute, 

 and, beginning at one end, separated by a sudden stroke a small 

 portion, which it swallowed. In this manner it proceeded 

 until it had devoured the whole, not swallowing at any time 

 more than a small fragment. It then hopped about, looking 

 now and then attentively at a certain spot, and at length began 

 to dig vehemently for another worm, which it soon procured. 

 This was the first time that I had closely watched a Blackbird 

 while searching for worms ; but I have since had repeated 

 opportunities of convincing myself that it always proceeds in 

 the same manner, never swallowing an entire worm unless it 

 happen to be extremely small, and cutting the very large onea 

 into a great number of pieces. 



" Blackbirds with us," writes my friend jSIr Archibald Hep- 

 burn of Whittingham, in East Lothian, " greedily devour 

 slugs, worms, and different sorts of berries and other fruits. 

 They seldom or never trust themselves free from the shelter of 



