98 ANC ORE DA Y= 
a hawk, cat or other intruder approach the 
nest, the cock utters a series of loud notes 
similar to those we had heard, and whilst 
on the wing, having flown rapidly in or 
out: He will often do the Same, Sevea 
though not nesting and at any time of the 
year, and frequently, too, just before dark, 
when taking up his roosting-place for the 
night, though nothing is apparently disturbing 
him. I have never been able to understand 
the meaning of these various performances. 
The blackbird’s song has been noticed in Part 
I, p. 21. Like the thrush, he 1s heard best in 
the spring-time, and in the early morning 
and evening, singing to his mate upon the 
nest. But both birds will sometimes sing 
in the winter on warm days. Many black- 
birds are kept in cages, because of their great 
vocal accomplishments. We all must have 
seen the blackbird on a lawn looking for 
earthworms (again like his cousin the thrush), 
and breaking snail shells taken in the beak 
and struck against a stone. The cock is at 
once known by his intense velvet black 
