o/ 







CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



])afic is tlu' lliosl Miilal)l(' in wliicli In (.-xhiijit 

 a Misst'l 'I'liriisli. It may cillicr liavc llic small 

 |)oiii()ii of llic lop at tlu' front wire as sliowii 

 ill tlie illustration, or tlu' woocli'U lo|i may conu- 

 ri^ht to the front, 'i'liis is a niattiT of taste. As 

 regards size, a very good dimension is IS inches 

 or 20 inches long, 16 inches high, and 10 inches 

 or II inches deep from ])acl< lo front, painted 

 or enamelled pale blue inside, and lilark out- 

 side. 



The Song Thrush. Tiirdiis iniisiriif: il.inn.), 



known as the " Throstle " in the North and 



numy districts, is deserveilly 



The Song ^^j^^, '.^j. ^j^^, „,.^.^^,si favourites 



Thrush. t. •■ • i . i 



among British songsters, and, 



from its singing so cheerily long before the 

 trees have burst into leaf, has generally been 

 called the " herald of spring." It frequents 

 the whole of luirope, but is found more generally 

 towards the north, and breeds throughout the 

 British Isles. During the autumn a consider- 

 able migralion of our home-bred Thrushes takes 

 place for more soutlu-in climes, while many 

 A'isilors from the coiilincnl considerably aug- 

 ment (lie numbers (d' our home-bred birds 

 which winter with us. There is a blithe, bluff 

 heartiness about the song of the Thrush that 

 carries with it a certain feeling of rusticity, 

 and which makes it peculiarly attractive in 

 a town, bringing as it does so forcibly remem- 

 brances of those green fields and shady liedge- 

 rows where we loved to roam in our boyhood 

 days. 



One of its faMiurile habils is lo re|)aii' in I he 

 early niorniug ami cnol cxcnlidc lo I he lo))- 

 niost hi'aiuh of a li'ee, sclccling smne wilhered 

 twig for ils ]K'rch. and from Iheiice |ioMr tnrlh 

 its flood of melody. Two or llirce of I hem 

 will make a whole disliici echo wilh nu'lody 

 indescril)able. One slrant^e tcaluic in t-omiec- 

 lion wilh this liird is that wliile allending lo a 

 bi'ood otNouug I he cck k bird rarely sings during 

 I he da\- ; bul towards the dusk of evening, 

 when his da\'s work is over, then he poui's 

 forth his song well inio the daikness, and has 

 doubtless often been mistaken for the Nighl- 

 ingale by those not comersant wilh Ihe song 

 of Ihe I wo birds. Thus the Nighlingale may 

 ha\c been accretliled wilh visiting districts in 

 which it is never seen, and in reality has iu'\er 

 been heard. The Song Thrush commences 

 singing as early as .lanuary, if Ihe season be 

 mild, con I inning I h rough the spring and summer. 

 The Thrush, being slighlly endowed wilh 

 imitalive powers, in caplixily has been known 

 lo " calch a I une " when whislled or jilayed upon 

 a wind-instrumeni . 



The size of Ihe bird \ aries considerably, Ihe 

 average length from Ihe lip of Ihe beak lo Ihe 

 end of the tail lieing about eight inches, Ihounh 



al limes I'eaching nine inches. It is a line bird, 

 neatly shaped, and its ]>luiiiage is ])retly. The 

 whole of the upper part is an olive-brown, 

 deepening somewliat in colour on the head 

 and neck. The fore-neck and breast, which 

 are a golden buff, have a darker tinge on either 

 side, and are thickly marked with triangular 

 oval spots of a very dark alinosl black brown, 

 reaching from each side of the throat over 

 Ihe cliesl, and down to the thighs; the throat, 

 however, is a yellowish-white, and nearl\- free 

 from spots, which are more tliickly spiead al 

 Ihe sides, gathering in clusters on Ihe lu'east 

 of some birds ; the abdomen and under [jarls 

 at the base of tail are buflish-white. The 

 wing-coverts are bidwn. tipped wilh a reddish- 

 yellow, whilst the rest of the wing is of a dark 

 olive-brown, the under wing-coverts being 

 bright tawny-lirown ; the tail is also of dark 

 olive-brown, rather slender and rounded al the 

 tip. The beak is dark-brown, except the halt 

 of the lower mandible nearest the base, which 

 is yellow. The diflerence between the sexes is 

 scarcely distinguishable, excejil, of course, by 

 the song, the hen being mute. .Most authorities 

 maintain that the cock is more sleiuler and has 

 a liner beak than (he hen, and undoubtedly 

 hens that we have known have without ex- 

 ception all displayed a stouter-built body and 

 ([uieter demeanour than cocks. As a ride, also, 

 the dark spots on the breast are denser and 

 more evenly dislribuled than those of a cock, 

 and thus tlie hen usually makes the best ex- 

 hiliition specimen. The standard properties of 

 an exhibition Song Thrush are — a thick-set 

 well-rounded luxly, standing well across tlie 

 ]iercli, the various sliades of colour rich and 

 distinct ; throat and breasl marking distiiuT, 

 llie spots on the breasl dense and evenly dis- 

 liibuted. running well down the Hanks ; i>lumage, 

 feel and toes |)erfecl : s'eadiness being essential, 

 with nice jaunly couliding mo\clUenls. 



llauil-reared birds or young ones cai)lured 

 soon after they conimence lo do for themselves 

 are usually Ihe best for exhibition jiurposes ; 

 (lu-y can be hand-reared on the same bill of 

 fare as the Missel Thrush and wilh eipial 

 success. When I hey can feed Ihemselves, 

 Ihey will do well on a slajile food of eciual jiarls 

 cliicken meal, ])ow(lered plain biscuit, and half 

 ]iarl linely granulaled meal meal, made crumbly 

 moisi with water. A tew ants' cocoons or dried 

 Hies can be added alteinat ely. Occasionally 

 a little linelx minced hard-boiled egg should 

 be given instead of the meal meal. .\lst) scrajied 

 raw carrot, boiled potato, or linely minced 

 Iclluce should be gixcu alternaUdy as recoiii- 

 lueiided foi' llu' Missel Thrush. The bird's 

 food, wlieii al lilierly, consists of snails, worms 

 ami insects, and, in Ihe summer, fruit and 



