BLACKBIED. 



TuRDus MERULA, Liiinfeus. 



Local Names — Ouzel, Black Ouzel. 



A resident and common species, and able to stand 

 hard winters better than others of its family. Hence, 

 since 1880, it has been more numerous than the Song- 

 Thrush, whilst usuall}' less so. Like the latter species 

 it is still moderately common on the south side of Man- 

 chester, chiefly in gardens and enclosures, and breeds 

 regularly, bringing up two broods in the season. It 

 sings from March to the end of July, and is one of the 

 earliest risers in the morning ; its call, in the height of 

 summer, may always be heard before sunrise. Its nest 

 is not seldom placed on the ground, and a case I re- 

 ported in the Zoologist for 1877 showed extraordinary 

 l^erseverance under difficulties. This nest was in the 

 bottom of an old lime-quarry, placed on a sloping bank, 

 with too little solid foundation, and the materials kept 

 slipping down the bank of their own weight, till a queue 

 nearly two feet long and five inches wide was made. At 

 the head of this it was at length triumphantly com- 

 pleted, and the eggs laid in due course. May is the 

 usual breeding month, though many nests may be found 

 in April and June. The Blackbird probably lays eggs 

 abnormal in shape more frequently than any other 

 common bird ; very often they are nearly round, and 

 one in my collection, out of a nestful of the same shape, 

 is only one-tenth of an inch greater in length than 

 breadth. The number is almost always four. 



