2o6 BRITISH BIRDS 



deposited no less than twenty-two eggs, every one of 

 which was fertile; but the cock, probably missing the 

 society of his mate, broke them all before the incubation 

 was complete; and in several other instances a similar 

 tragedy was enacted ; so that it is necessary when the third 

 ^gg has been laid to remove the gentleman, or at any 

 rate to partition him ofif, in which case he tries his best 

 by singing and calling to induce the hen to neglect her 

 duty. The better plan is to take him away altogether, 

 when she will sit quietly and successfully rear her brood, 

 providing of course that she is properly attended to, as 

 regards the quantity as well as quality of the food sup- 

 plied to her. 



Occasionally a solitary female in a cage will evince a 

 disposition to become broody, and if she is provided with 

 a nest made by a wild bird, will lay eggs in it, which 

 must be removed, and those of another bird of the same 

 species, of a Blackbird, or even of a Starling or Cardinal, 

 may be substituted for them; when she will hatch them and 

 bring up the young strangers as if they were her own. 



Probably the reason why a Thrush has no more than two 

 broods in the season is the difficulty of finding suitable 

 food (in a dry summer many of the young die in the nest 

 or soon after leaving it), for in an aviary they always 

 produce three and occasionally four batches; but it is better 

 not to allow them to exceed the natural complement, as 

 over-egg-production has a debilitating effect on the mother, 

 so that she moults with difficulty afterwards, and sometimes 

 not at all. 



The Thrush is a very hardy bird, and will endure a 

 wonderful amount of privation without much apparent in- 

 jury to its constitution, but it stands to reason that one 

 correctly treated will be both handsomer and healthier, as 

 well as more lively, than another in whose case all the 

 laws of nature have been set at defiance. 



Indigestion, resulting in convulsions or fits, and sore 

 feet, are the principal complaints to which caged Thrushes 

 are liable ; the first can be guarded against more easily 

 than cured, though a return to a natural diet and a pinch 

 of bicarbonate of soda in the drinking-water will go a 



