82 BIRDS OP NORFOLK. 



then residing at Intwood. It had been built in an open 

 siunmer-liouse near the drive, and the bird had selected 

 for nesting purposes, an earthenware pan, accidentally 

 left on the top of a bracket, in which receptacle, the 

 materials, composed of moss and bents, were compactly 

 arranged, though necessarily flattened from the shallow- 

 ness of the saucer. In spite, however, of frequent 

 intruders to watch the progress of her novel proceedings, 

 the hen bird succeeded in hatching and bringing off five 

 young ones from this most unusual and uncomfortable 

 little nursery. The thrush is one of our earliest 

 breeders, incubation commencing generally by the 

 middle of March; and in the spring of 1864, a nest, 

 with three eggs was found in tbe vicinity of Norwich on 

 the lOthj the bush in which it was placed being covered 

 with snow, a heavy fall having occurred on the previous 

 night. Pure white and pied varieties of this bird are 

 occasionally met with. A very beautiful specimen of 

 the former, without spot of any kind, was killed near 

 Norwich in 1862, a year particularly remarkable for the 

 number of ^^ varieties," amongst our common species of 

 birds, as observed in this county; and I have also 

 noticed more than once, that varieties in eggs vdll 

 abound in particular seasons, though I am unable to 

 assign any probable cause. 



TURDUS ILIACUS, Linnaeus. 



EEDWING. 



A common winter visitant, arriving rather later 

 than the fieldfare, and leaving again earlier in the 

 spring. This species has probably never been known 

 to breed in Norfolk,* but a single specimen was killed 



* In Sir Wm. Hooker's MS. is the following statement, with 

 the name of Mr. Crow appended as the authority : — " The Eedwing 



