49 

 THE SONG THRUSH. 



Turdiis Miisictis. 



A flute-like melody is thine, O Thrush ! 

 Full of rich cadences, and clear and deep : 

 Upon the sense it cometh like a gush 

 Of perfume stolen from the winds that sweep 

 Where spice-isles gem the bosom of the deep. 



Description. Upper part of the body is olive- 

 gray; wings and tail-brown; breast and sides, yellow 

 with numerous oval-shaped dark-brown spots ; length? 

 eight inches and a half. 



The Song Thrush is a most melodious singer, being 

 gifted with a more powerful tone than any of the 

 feathered choristers of the European forest. This 

 speckled musician pleases with delight, and satisfies, as 

 it were, the very soul of thee listeners. In the wild 

 state it only sings during the spring ; but when caged, 

 and properly treated, will sing eight or nine months of 

 the year, commencing about December or January. It 

 is for this reason, as well as for its beautiful song, that 

 the thrush is so much kept in cages, and domesticated. 

 In the spring of the year its voice becomes too loud to 

 be in a room ; it is therefore hung up outdoors, where 

 it pleases the whole nighborhood. 



Their food may be of two different kinds, viz.'l A 

 piece of a roll (stale), soaket in water for a few minutes 

 and then pressed out, is mixed with the same quantity 

 of coarse barley or oatmeal ; to this is added enough of 



