The Missel Thrush. 5 



South of England, where the bird is generally double-brooded ; in my own 

 experience its nidification extends from March to May, April being the month when 

 most nests are to be found. 



If disturbed when sitting, the Missel Thrush is very noisy, but any attempt 

 to interfere with the young is the signal for a perfect uproar ; then too is 

 the time to watch the perfect flight of this powerful bird as he sweeps round 

 in wide circles, or, as the intruder stoops to examine the nest, flashes through 

 the very branches close to his head ; uttering wild guttural curses and shrieking 

 out horrid oaths : well has this bird earned its titles of " Screech Thrush " 

 and "Holm screech." 



The song of the Missel Thrush is wild, powerful and not without melody, 

 although somewhat monotonous ; it is uttered from early autumn until its 

 nesting duties commence ; and, wet or fiue, from early dawn to dewy eve, its 

 rich notes may be heard ; in the wildest and stormiest weather, it tries to 

 raise its voice above the uproar of the elements ; on which account the well- 

 known name of " Stormcock " has beeu bestowed upon it. In the East Riding 

 of Yorkshire it is called " Charley Cock." 



The food consists of berries, small fruits, seeds, snails, slugs, worms, larvae 

 and insects. It is especiall}- fond of the berries of the mountain ash, and after 

 these it chooses those of the hawthorn or ivy ; the berries of the mistletoe, to 

 which it owes its name of IMistletoe Thrush, or Missel Thrush, are rarely 

 eaten by it ; during the autumn when grain is being sown, this bird eats it 

 greedil}', a fact which should be borne in mind by those who keep cage birds, many 

 of whom labour under the delusion that because a bird is called "insectivorous" 

 it should have no farinaceous food. As a matter of fact, many " insectivors," when 

 kept in the same aviary with seed-eating birds, swallow quantities of seed. 



Excepting when feeding, the Missel Thrush spends most of its time either 

 in trees or shrubs, it is a somewhat shy bird, though bold in defence of its 

 young, it having been known to drive predaceous birds from the vicinity of 

 its nest by the impetuous and noisy attacks which it has made upon them. 

 Moreover, it always seeks its food in the open fields, not skulking along 

 under hedges and shrubs after the manner of the Song Thrush. In captivity 

 it soon becomes tame and confiding, and if reared from the nest, it is quite 

 as friendly and playful towards its owner as a Canar}-. 



In May, 1886, during a birds'-nesting expedition in Kent, I came across a 

 nest of the Missel Thrush containing two young birds, in an old apple 

 orchard. With the assistance of the owner, upon whose shoulders I climbed, I 

 succeeded in pulling myself up into the lower branches, when it was easy to 



