84 Baby Birds at Home 



thrush. Those of the former are rich, flute- 

 like melodious strains delivered in an easy, 

 slow manner, whilst those of the latter are 

 ringing, hurried messages of hope that the 

 singer is determined you shall hear and not 

 forget. 



The Blackbird builds its nest in ever- 

 greens, thorn bushes, hedges, small trees, 

 holes in old stone walls, on beams in sheds, 

 and almost anywhere and everywhere. It is 

 made of small twigs, rootlets, straws, moss and 

 mud, and lined with fine dead grass. From 

 four to six dull, bluish-green eggs thickly 

 spotted with reddish brown and grey are laid. 



When well-fed the nestlings grow with 

 surprising quickness, and the parent birds 

 sometimes rear as many as three broods in 

 a season. 



The male helps the female to find food for 

 the little ones in the nest, and between de- 

 livering one catch of worms and going in 

 search of another, he often mounts some tall 

 tree and gives vent to his happiness in a few 

 mellow notes. 



If any accident should deprive the baby 

 Blackbirds of their mother, the father bird 

 will rear the little family by himself. 



