The Thrush. 73 



ations, often the most nnlikelyj as for instance, the hroken- 

 in hat of a ''scarecrow" in a turnip-field. There are usually 

 three broods in the season, of from three to six young ones 

 each time, the first brood being ready to fly in April. The 

 eggs are greenish blue, speckled lightly with brown and 

 violet; but occasionally without a spot of any kind, and bearing 

 a strong resemblance in all but size to those of the Hedge 

 Accentor. 



The young are easily reared on bread and milk, and may 

 be taken, as in the case of the Blackbird, as soon as the 

 quills are beginning to sprout, especially if it be desired to 

 teach them a tune. 



When wild the Thrush feeds chiefly on insects, but it also 

 has recourse to fruit and berries when its favourite food begins 

 to fail. In the house it will eat and thrive on almost any- 

 thing, even bran and water, with an occasional mealworm, 

 or blackbeetle: in fact it is almost impossible to starve a 

 Thrush, and yet thousands of these birds, as well as their 

 dark-plumaged relatives, the Blackbirds, die every winter, when 

 the snow has lain upon the ground for any length of time, 

 or a prolonged frost has cut off from them the ordinary sources 

 of food supply. 



"With common care a Thrush will live in a cage for fifteen 

 or twenty years, but its domicile must be roomy, and the 

 utmost attention to cleanliness is indispensable in order to 

 prevent its feathers from being broken and spoiled. 



Bechstein, in writing of this bird, says, ''The Song Thrush 

 is the great charm of our woods, which it enlivens by the 

 beauty of its song. The ri\^al of the Nightingale, it announces 

 in varied accents the return of spring, and continues its de- 

 lightful notes during all the summer months, particularly at 

 morning and evening twilight: and it is to procure this grati- 

 fication in his dwelling that the bird-fancier rears it, and 

 deprives it of its liberty, and he thus enjoys the pleasures 

 of the woods in the midst of the city." 



