SONG THRUSH. I35 



that just before rising to fly it runs a few steps, and does the 

 same after alighting,, although its ordinary mode of progression 

 is by leaps. 



Song Thrushes are sometimes seen in the markets, along with 

 Fieldfares and Blackbirds. In the beginning of winter, when 

 they feed on snails and worms, they are very fat and sapid, as 

 well as savoury. Besides man, their principal enemies are the 

 smaller hawks. I have several times seen a Thrush take re- 

 fuge in a house when pursued by a Merlin or Sparrow Hawk. 



The full song of this species is heard in April, May, and 

 June, although, as I have already said, it may be occasionally 

 heard at any season. In March it pairs, and by the end of that 

 month or in the beginning of the next, begins to construct its 

 nest, which is placed in a thick bush of any kind, or in a hedge, 

 at a small height, or on a rough bank among shrubs or moss. 

 In the unwooded parts of the country it is found under shelter 

 of a projecting stone or crag, in the crevice of a rock, or at the 

 root of a tuft of heath, or among the stunted willows on the 

 rocky bank of a stream. It is composed externally of slender 

 twigs, roots, grass, and moss, and is lined with a thin layer of 

 mud, cow-dung, or rotten wood, neatly laid on, and between 

 which and the eggs no other substance is interposed. The 

 diameter of the cavity is usually about four inches, its depth 

 from two and a half to four. As a good deal of wrangling has 

 taken place on the subject of Thrushes' nests, I may be allowed 

 to be somewhat particular in this matter. 



Although the structure of the nest does not vary much, the 

 materials are very diversified. In a nest before me, which 

 is very bulky, the exterior is formed of the long tough 

 roots of various plants, a twig of Rumex crispus or latifolius, 

 another of the rasp, a clipping of boxwood, a piece of pack- 

 thread, numerous tufts of Poa annua and Stellaria media, two 

 or three mosses, and some other substances. Within this is a 

 more elaborate structure of fibrous roots, tufts of grasses, straws, 

 and some beech leaves, interwoven, and compacted with some 

 tenacious substance. This inner cup is lined or plastered with 

 a very thin but firm coating of what seems to be horse-dung, 

 on the surface of which are spread numerous chips of straw 



