90 TURD US MERULA. 



It is not in the wild valley, flanked with birchen slopes, and 

 stretching far away among the craggy hills, that the music of 

 the Blackbird floats upon the evening breeze. There you may 

 listen delighted to the gentle song of the ISIavis ; but here, in 

 this plain, covered with corn-fields, and skirted with gardens, 

 sit thee down on the green turf by the gliding brook, and 

 mark the little black speck stuck as it were upon the top twig 

 of that tall poplar. It is a Blackbird, for now the sweet 

 strain, loud, but mellowed by distance, comes upon the ear, 

 inspiring pleasant thoughts, and banishing care and sorrow. 

 The bird has evidently learned his part by long practice, for 

 he sings sedately and in the full consciousness of superiority. 

 Ceasing at intervals, he renews the strain, varying it so that 

 although you can trace an occasional repetition of notes, the 

 staves are never precisely the same. You may sit an hour or 

 longer, and yet the song will be continued ; and in the neigh- 

 bourinof gardens many rival songsters will sometimes raise their 

 voices at once, or delight you with alternate strains. And 

 now, what is the purpose of all this melody ? We can only 

 conjecture that it is the expression of the perfect happiness 

 which the creature is enjoying, when, uncarked by care, con- 

 scious of security, and aware of the presence of his mate, he 

 instinctively pours forth his soul in joy and gratitude and love. 

 He does not sing to amuse his mate, as many have supposed, 

 for he often sings in winter, when he is not yet mated ; nor 

 does he sing to beguile his solitude, for now he is not solitary ; 

 but he sings because all his wants are satisfied, his whole frame 

 glowing with health, and because his Maker has gifted him 

 with the power of uttering sweet sounds. 



The Blackbird pairs in February or March, and about the 

 middle of the latter month, or later in the season, according to 

 the temperature or the progress of vegetation, begins to con- 

 struct its nest, which it places in a bush of any kind, a haw- 

 thorn, a laurel, a holly, or a willow, for example, or among 

 ivy, or honeysuckle, or even in a hole in a wall or rock. For 

 the most part however it selects the lower part of a hedge, or 

 a briar or bramble thicket, or the concealment of a fresh young 

 fir or pine. The nest, which is bulky, is composed externally 



