2 MISSEL-THRUSH, 



and the north-western Himalayas up to 9,000 feet : in the latter it 

 attains its palest colour and largest dimensions, and was formerly 

 distinguished as T. hodgsoni. In temperate Siberia it is found 

 eastward to Lake Baikal ; migrating in winter to Northern India, 

 Persia, and Africa north of the Sahara. 



In the south of England the Missel-Thrush sometimes begins to 

 breed in February, and even in the north it frequently has eggs in 

 March. The nest, which when placed in a wide fork of a tree has a 

 considerable foundation of mud, is lined with dry grasses and com- 

 posed externally of bents and lichens, but although the colour of the 

 latter may resemble that of the branch on which the structure 

 is placed- — bushes being seldom resorted to — there is often no 

 attempt at concealment. The eggs, 4-5 in number, are greenish to 

 tawny-white, blotched with reddish-brown and lilac : measurements 

 about I '25 in. by '85 in. In the south two broods are generally 

 produced annually, but in the north the fine weather is too short 

 for more than one. P'rom its habit of singing early in the year in 

 defiance of rough weather, the Missel-Thrush is often called the 

 * Storm-cock ' ; also the ' Holm-screech,' from its partiality to the 

 berries of the Holm or Holly, and its harsh churr-'mg note. Its 

 trivial name is probably a contraction of Mistletoe-Thrush, owing to 

 a widely-spread belief in its predilection for the berries of that para- 

 site ; but in Great Britain its food consists rather of berries of the 

 yew, holly, mountain-ash, hawthorn, ivy, &c., fruit when obtainable, 

 worms, snails and insects. Although shy of man, except when its 

 nest is approached, the Missel-Thrush is bold and tyrannical towards 

 other birds, fearlessly attacking Magpies, Jays, and other species 

 superior to it in size ; and occasionally it has even been known to 

 carry off nestlings. Its flight is rapid but jerky, and on the wing its 

 large size and generally grey appearance serve to distinguish it from 

 any other Thrushes. 



Adult male : upper parts ash-brown ; under parts bufifish-white, 

 with bold fan-shaped spots, smaller and more arrow-shaped on the 

 throat ; under wing-coverts and axillaries pure white ; bill horn- 

 brown, yellowish at the base ; legs pale brown. Length about 1 1 in. ; 

 wing from the carpal joint 575 in. The female is slightly paler than 

 the male. In the young the arrow-shaped markings on the throat 

 and breast are more pronounced ; the upper wing-coverts broadly 

 tipped with white, and the under parts, especially the flanks, suffused 

 with golden-buff. In this plumage it has been mistaken for the rare 

 White's Thrush, but its twelve tail-feathers distinquish it. 



