THE BROWN THRUSH. 165 
The song of this bird is difficult of description: it is a 
sort of confused mixture of the notes of different birds, or 
rather seems to be, but. is really its own song; as different 
individuals all sing nearly alike. The fact that it resembles 
the Mocking-bird in its medley of notes has caused it to be 
called, in some localities, the Brown Mocker ; and it is also 
sometimes called the Mavis and Nightingale, from its habit 
of singing in the night during the mating season. 
The description of Wilson’s, of the habits of this bird, is 
pretty comprehensive, in fact, the best that I have seen, and 
I give it almost entire. He says, — 
“Tt is the largest of all our Thrushes, and is a well-known and 
very distinguished songster. About the middle or 20th of April, 
or generally about the time the cherry-trees begin to blossom, he 
arrives in Pennsylvania; and, from the tops of our hedge-rows, 
sassafras, apple, or cherry trees, he salutes the opening morning 
with his charming song, which is loud, emphatical, and full of 
variety. At that serene hour, you may plainly distinguish his voice 
fully half a mile off. These notes are not imitative, as his name 
would import, and as some people believe, but seem solely his own, 
and have considerable resemblance to the notes of the Song Thrush 
(Turdus musicus) of Britain. Early in May he builds his nest, 
choosing a thorn-bush, low cedar, thicket of briers, dogwood-sapling, 
or cluster of vines, for its situation, generally within a few feet of 
the ground. Outwardly, it is constructed of small sticks; then, 
layers of dry leaves; and, lastly, lined with fine, fibrous roots, but 
without any plaster. The eggs are five, thickly sprinkled with fer- 
ruginous grains, on a very pale-bluish ground. They generally have 
two broods in a season. Like all birds that build near the ground, 
he shows great anxiety for the safety of his nest and young, and 
often attacks the black snake in their defence; generally, too, with 
success, his strength being greater, and his bill stronger and more 
powerful, than any other of his tribe within the United States. His 
food consists of worms, which he scratches from the ground, cater- 
pillars, and many kinds of berries. Beetles, and the whole race of 
coleopterous insects, wherever he can meet with them, are sure to 
suffer. He is accused, by some people, of scratching up the hills 
