BLACK THRUSH, OR BLACKBIRD. 95 



" From four to five o'clock the male fed them three, and the 

 female four times ; from five to six o'clock the female fed them 

 only twice, and from six to seven o'clock she fed them three 

 times. In the evening the male was so much engaged in sing- 

 ing, that he left the charge of his family almost entirely to his 

 tender-hearted spouse. 



" From seven to eight o'clock the male fed them only once, 

 and the female six times ; and from eight to twenty minutes 

 before nine o'clock, when they ceased from their mutual labours, 

 the male fed them once, and the female seven times. When 

 I left my retreat, to repair to my more comfortable abode, the 

 male was pouring forth his most charming melody. 



" Thus, in the course of a single day, the male fed the young 

 "44, and the female fed them 69 times. 



" Before these birds fed their young, they always alighted 

 upon a tree, and looked around them for a few seconds. They 

 sometimes brought in a quantity of worms, and fed the whole 

 of their brood alternately ; at other times they carried in only 

 one worm, and gave it to one of them. The worms were very 

 large, owing no doubt to some heavy showers of rain which 

 had fallen on the previous day. This may perhaps be the rea- 

 son why they fed them so seldom, compared \^"ith the number of 

 times that the Thrushes, which I watched a few days before, 

 gave food to their brood. The weather was then very dry, and 

 the worms were considerably smaller. 



" The young birds often trimmed their feathers, and stretched 

 out their wrings ; they also appeared to sleep now and then. 

 With the note of alarm which the feathered tribes set up on 

 the discovery of their enemies, all the different species of the 

 little birds seem to be most intimately acquainted ; for no sooner 

 did a beast or a bird of prey make its appearance, than they 

 seemed to be anxiously concerned about the safety of their 

 family. From tree to tree they usually hopped, uttering their 

 doleful lamentations. At one time the Blackbirds were in an 

 unusual state of excitement and terror, and were attended by 

 crowds of their woodland friends. A man and a boy, who 

 were working in my garden, having heard the noise, ran to see 

 what was the cause of it. Upon looking into some branches 



