Blue Thrushes 47 



And his feathers, after a judicious soaping, sponging, 

 and drying, although for the time being hopelessly 

 shabby, re-appeared with some of their pristine gloss 

 and natural colouring. 



That bird plainly showed his joy, more especially 

 as he was put into a new and roomy cage, where for 

 the first time in his life he found clean and fresh sand, 

 pure water, and untainted food. 



Having proved him to be a desirable bird for a 

 cage, my next aim was to procure a brood of young 

 blue thrushes, and rear them myself from the nest ; 

 but for this I had to wait until the following spring, 

 when I hoped to be once more on the shores of the 

 " Lago incantevole." In the meanwhile my Passera 

 successfully endured the dampness, and cold, and fogs 

 of an English winter, very soon becoming friendly 

 and familiar. 



Having left Italy in the autumn days when little 

 green figs and large juicy brown ones abounded, when 

 autumn snow had whitened the extreme summits of 

 distant mountains and autumn tints had commenced 

 to reflect themselves in the mirror of water beneath, 

 I returned in April to find the gardens echoing with 

 the songs of newly-arrived nightingales and blackcaps, 

 and gay with the promise of spring. Seeking out a 

 garden-labourer, whose acquaintance I had made 

 during one of my previous visits, and who was a 

 keen observer of birds, I arranged a tramp with him 

 up into the hills behind Cadenabbia, where blue 

 thrushes and rock thrushes (of which more later 

 on) are fairly numerous. 



