MISSEL-THKUSH. FIELDFARE. 75 



curious pied variety was killed in tliis county in 1853. 

 This bird had all the upper parts of the body white, 

 with the exception of one or two brown feathers on the 

 back, the chin and throat also white, but the usual 

 spots appeared on the lower part of the breast. 



TURDUS PILARIS, Linn^us. 



FIELDrARE. 



To the lover of nature in all her varied aspects, there 

 is something peculiarly attractive in the first fall of 

 snow, be it early or late, before or after Christmas. It is 

 not the less cheering because of the cold, when, for the 

 first time in the season, upon drawing up our blinds in 

 the morning, a white unsullied covering presents itself, 

 with a glare that makes our eyes blink again, as the 

 sun struggling through the heavy clouds lights up the 

 brilliant landscape. How exquisite is that delicate 

 white fringe that hangs upon the branches of the leafless 

 trees, each twig, however small, each sturdy hmb, 

 bearmg on its surface its proportioned weight — the 

 '^ giant of the forest" as completely powdered as the 

 little sapling by the road side. In our gardens and 

 shrubberies the thick white puffs are hanging in masses 

 on the plants and shrubs, and the dark green of the 

 laurel, the privet, and the box, looks almost black 

 beside the dazzling snow. Every breath of wind 

 scatters a gentle shower to the ground, and a constant 

 succession of little avalanches are falling in all direc- 

 tions from the laden branches. Contrasted with that 

 emblem of purity itself, all else assumes a darker shade. 

 The walls of our dwellings, with every ^^ coin of van- 

 tage" picked out in relief by the penetrating drift, look 

 more than dingy, though the spotless roof has almost 

 l2 



