282 TUHDIDK. 



ground or against a bank, and lias been found in the upper 

 boughs of a lofty tree. The outside is made of coarse roots 

 and strong bents of grass, plastered over or intermixed with 

 earth, and forming a stiff wall : it is then lined with finer 

 bents. The eggs are from four to six in number, of a light 

 greenish-blue, mottled with dark or light red-brown ; the 

 ground being usually more blue than in eggs of the Field- 

 fare, and the markings often taking the more definite form 

 of spots or streaks : but eggs of the Blackbird are occasion- 

 ally found of a uniform greenish-blue, without any markings 

 whatever, or these appear as lilac patches ; while some eggs 

 have a yellowish-white ground, Avith very faint markings of 

 light rusty : they measure from 1-36 to '95 by from '89 to 

 "75 in. The first brood of young is hatched by the end 

 of March, or early in April. Mr. Blyth (Naturalist, 1838, 

 p. 152) knew of a pair which raised four broods, in all seven- 

 teen birds, in one season, and another prolific pair which had 

 twenty-five eggs and reared fourteen young has been recorded 

 by Dr. Gordon (Zool. p. 2297). This species will breed with 

 the Song-Thrush, and in one case on record (Mag. Nat. Hist, 

 vii. p. 599) hybrids were produced from such an union in 

 two successive years. 



The Blackbird is very generally distributed throughout 

 the British Islands, breeding regularly in every county of 

 Great Britain from Cornwall to Orkney, while Thompson 

 says it is common and resident in all the wooded parts of 

 Ireland. In some of the Outer Hebrides, however, it would 

 seem from Mr. K. Gray, to be only known as an uncertain 

 winter-visitant, and it is at that season alone, according to 

 Dr. Saxby, that it appears in Shetland. Selby says that early 

 in November vast flocks arrive on the coast of Northumber- 

 land, but remaining only a few days, resume their flight in a 

 south-westerly direction. As Mr. Stevenson has observed a 

 similar migratory movement in Norfolk and Mr. Blake-Knox 

 (Zool. s.s. p. 684) in Ireland, it may be presumed to ex- 

 tend to other places ; but a large number of our Blackbirds 

 undoubtedly abide with us throughout the whole winter. 



In Sweden the Blackbird does not appear to go further 



