THE ROCK-THKUSH. 421 



Food. — Largely vegetable as well as auiniaj. Very destructive 

 to fruit, esj)ecially during drought (apples, pears, strawberries, 

 gooseberries, cherries, etc.). Also takes berries of many species 

 (holly, rose, haAvthorn, ivy, rowan, blackberry, cotoneaster, etc.), 

 and seeds of many plants. Besides earthworms, insects (coleoptera, 

 larvae of diptera and lepidoptera, hymenoptera (ants), orthoptera 

 and neuroptera), spiders, millipedes and small mollusca are also 

 eaten. 



Distribution. — British Isles. — ^Resident. Generally distributed, 

 but in O. Hebrides and Shetlands a scarce and local breeder, though 

 more common in Orkneys and I. Hebrides, and much more common 

 in all these islands as winter-visitor. In Ireland has extended 

 breeding-range to extreme west of mainland, and to Achill Island 

 and Aran Isles. 



Migrations. — British Isles. — Many home-bred birds migrate in 

 autumn and return in spring, especially in north Scotland and 

 exposed places elsewhere, many winter in southern counties, others 

 pass to Ireland and to the Continent. A large autumn (late Sept. 

 to end Nov.) immigration in northern isles and down both sides of 

 Great Britain, as well as in Ireland. Some of these immigrants 

 pass on and leave the country, others stay winter. Winter weather- 

 emigrations also occur. A reverse movement in spring (late Feb. 

 to early April) and lasting to end of April and even to beginning of 

 June in northern isles. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — The whole of Europe, except Spain, 

 where replaced — as in north-west Africa, the Atlantic islands, south- 

 east Europe to Persia, Syi'ia, Turkestan to Mongolia, Himalayas 

 and China — by more or less closely-allied forms. 



Genus MONTICOLA Boie. 



MoNTicoLA Boie, Isis, 1822, i, p. 552. (Containing M. saxatilis and 

 cyaniis ( = solitariii.<>) ; type by subsequent designation, Seebohm I88I, 

 not Gray: M. saxatilis). 



Resembling Turclus but, the species which has occurred in Great 

 Britain particularly, with tail much shorter, wing comparatively 

 longer, nearly reaching end of tail. Bill longer, nostrils generally 

 more exposed. Nests open, eggs uniform or spotted. Europe, 

 Asia and Africa. 



MONTICOLA SAXATILIS 



175. Monticola saxatilis (L.)— THE ROCK-THRUSH. 



TuRDUs SAXATILIS LinuEBiLS, Syst. Nat., ed. xii, i, p. 2!)4 (I7CG — " Habitat 



in Helvetiae, Austrise, Borussiae montibus." Restricted typical locality : 



Switzerland). 



Monticola saxatilis (Linnaeus), Yarrell, i, p. 292 ; Saunders, p. 17. 



