THE PIELDFAEE. 79 



ground, from four to thirty or forty feet or upwards ; they 

 were, for the most part, placed against the trunk of the 

 Spruce Fir ; some were, however, at a considerable distance 

 from it, upon the upper surface and towards the smaller 

 end of the thicker branches : they resembled most nearly 

 those of the Ring Ouzel ', the outside is composed of sticks 

 and coarse grass and weeds gathered wet, matted with a 

 small quantity of clay, and lined with a thick bed of fine 

 dry grass : none of them yet contained more than three 

 eggs, although we afterwards found that five was more com- 

 monly the number than four, and that even six was very 

 frequent ; they are very similar to those of the Blackbird, 

 and even more so to the Ring Ouzel. The Fieldfare is 

 the most abundant bird in iJ^orway, and is generally dif- 

 fused over that part which we visited, building, as already 

 noticed, in society ; two hundred nests or more being 

 frequently seen within a very small space." Some few 

 instances are on record of the Fieldfare breeding in this 

 country, but these are exceptional. In general they leave 

 us in April and May, though they have been observed as 

 late as the beginning of June. 



THE SOXG THRUSH. 



TURDUS MUSICUS. 



Upper parts brown tinged with olive ; wing-coverts edged and tipped with reddish 

 yellow ; cere yellowish ; throat white in the middle, without spots ; sides of 

 neck and breast reddish yellow with triangular dark brown spots ; abdomen 

 and flanks pure white with oval dark brown spots ; under wing-coverts pale 

 orange yellow ; bill and feet greyish brown. Length eight inches and a half, 

 breadth thirteen inches. Eggs blue with a few black spots mostly at the 

 larger end. 



The Thrush holds a distinguished place among British 

 birds, as contributing, perhaps, more than any other to the 

 aggregate charms of a country life. Its mellow, sweet, and 

 eloquent song awakens the first primrose, and salutes the 

 earliest verdure that adorns the lithe twigs of Woodbine. 

 More inspiriting and scarcely less melodious than that of 



