00 CORVID.E. 



seventh volume of tlie Magazine of Natural History, page 

 598, by Mr. Henry Berry, in the following terms. With 

 respect to the Thrush, I recollect a singular case : in the 

 garden of James Hankin, a nurseryman at Ormskirk, in Lan- 

 cashire, a thrush and a Blackbird had paired : this was well 

 known to a number of individuals, myself amongst them. 

 During two successive years the birds reared their broods, 

 which were permitted to fly, and evinced, in all respects, the 

 features of strongly-marked hybrids. Several instances are 

 known in which the female of the Black Grouse, usually 

 called the Grey Hen, has bred in a wild state with the 

 Common Pheasant ; and hybrids between the Pheasant and 

 Domestic Fowls, are frequently produced. The Common 

 Goose, in a state of domestication, has produced young with 

 the Chinese Gander, as recorded by T. C. Eyton, Esq. ; and 

 the Wild Duck has bred with the male Pintail at Belvidere, 

 as communicated to the Zoological Society by the Hon. 

 Twiselton Fiennes. 



Several experiments on the productive powers of various 

 hybrid birds are now in progress ; but, without intending to 

 anticipate the interesting particulars which may be elicited, 



1 may briefly refer to what has fallen under my own observ- 

 ation. Some degree of restriction, either accidental or im- 

 posed, and arising from various causes, appears to be neces- 

 sary to induce the union of birds that are of different species; 

 but the influence of the Divine command to increase and 

 multiply is so irresistible, that some birds unite with strange 

 partners, rather than have no partner at all ; when putting 

 two birds of different species together, with the intention 

 of breeding from them, union is less likely to take place if 

 they are kept Avithin sight or hearing of other birds of their 

 own species. The two sexes of the broods produced by such 

 unions take little or no notice of each other when adult, even 

 during the usual breeding-season, and are believed to be un- 



