2 MISTLE-THRUSH. 



Spanish Peninsula, and e\cn in Northern Africa; eastward, in 

 Turkey, the Caucasus, and the mountain forests of Asia down "to 

 the north-western Himalayas, and up to 9,000 feet ; attaining in the 

 last its palest colour and largest dimensions. In temperate Siberia 

 it is found eastward to Lake Baikal; migrating in winter to 

 Northern India, Persia, and Africa north of the Sahara. 



In the south of England the Mistle-Thrush sometimes begins to 

 lay in February, while even in the north it often has eggs in March. 

 The nest, which when placed in a wide fork of a tree has a 

 considerable foundation of mud, is lined with dry grasses and 

 composed externally of bents and lichens, but although the colour 

 of the latter may resemble that of the branch on which the structure 

 is placed — bushes being seldom resorted to — there is often no 

 attempt at concealment. Exceptionally the nest has been found on 

 the ground or in a hole of a wall. The 4-5 eggs are greenish- to 

 tawny-white, blotched with reddish-brown and lilac : measurements 

 I '2 5 in. by '85 in. In the south two broods are generally produced 

 annually, but in the north the fine weather is too short for more 

 than one. From its habit of singing early in the year in defiance of 

 rough weather, the Mistle-Thrush is often called the ' Storm-cock ' ; 

 also ' Holm-screech,' from its partiality to the berries of the Holm 

 or Holly, and its harsh churr-\x\g note. Its trivial name is a 

 contraction of Mistletoe-Thrush, owing to the fact that it eats the 

 berries of that parasite ; but in Great Britain it seems to prefer those 

 of the yew, holly, mountain-ash, hawthorn, ivy, &c., fruit when 

 obtainable, worms, snails and insects. Although shy of man, 

 except when its nest is approached, the Mistle-Thrush is a bold 

 bird, fearlessly attacking Magpies, Jays, and other species superior 

 to it in size. Its flight is rapid but jerky, and on the wing its large 

 size, greyish tint, and white tips to the outer tail-feathers serve to 

 distinguish it from any other Thrushes. 



The adult male has the upper parts ash-brown ; under parts 

 buffish-white, with bold fan-shaped spots, smaller and more acute 

 on the throat ; under wing and axillaries white ; bill horn-brown, 

 yellowish at the base ; legs pale brown. Total length 1 1 in. ; wing 

 6 in. The female is slightly paler than the male. In the young 

 the arrow-shaped markings on the throat and breast are more 

 pronounced ; the upper wing-coverts broadly tipped with white, and 

 the under parts, especially the flanks, suffused with golden-buff. 

 In this plumage it has been mistaken for the rare A\'hite's Thrush, 

 but its hvelve tail-feathers distinguish it : White's Thrush having 

 fourteen. 



