64 Mr. C. A. Wright's List of the Birds 



97. TuRDUs PILARIS. (Fieldfare.) 

 Malvitzun, Maltese. 



The latest of the Thrushes which visit us in the winter. It 

 is seldom seen before January, when a few are taken every year. 

 It generally lingers in the island a few weeks. 



98. TuRDUS iLiACUs. (Redwing.) 

 Malvitz, Maltese. 



Rare ; does not make its appearance every year. In Novem- 

 ber and December 1861 I obtained two specimens, and Mr. J. 

 Home another on the 2nd of the latter month. 



99. Petrocincla saxatilis. (Rock Thrush.) 

 Gianbuhlu, Maltese. 



Arrives early in spring (about the middle of March), generally 

 in pairs, and may be seen till May. It reappears in September, 

 on its voyage southwards. 



100. Petrocincla cyanea. (Blue Solitary Thrush.) 

 Meril or Ciccu di Diu, Maltese. 



Indigenous. A lover of rocky and solitary places, it not un- 

 frequently approaches the dwellings of man ; and it is no un- 

 common occurrence to see it perched on the corner of some 

 house, giving vent to its melodious but plaintive song, which it 

 also often pours forth on the wing. It is most commonly met 

 with in pairs on the south coast, where it breeds in the high 

 cliffs. It also constructs a loosely formed nest in ruined 

 buildings, in which case its progeny are sure to be taken by 

 the country-lads, who find a ready sale for them in the town as 

 cage-birds. The Blue Thrush becomes strongly attached to the 

 locality in which it has been brought up, and seldom quits it. 

 This affection is also shown in a state of captivity, and it rarely 

 long survives removal to a new and strange place. Many in- 

 stances of this kind have come under my notice. One is worth 

 mentioning. When the New Market in Valletta was opened, 

 many of the market-people brought with them cages containing 

 these birds from the old market, where they had been reared. 

 One after another of the birds pined away and died, and in a few 

 weeks not one survived the change of locality, yet they were fed by 

 the same hand, and with the same description of food. Almost 



