NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



and another joined to the nest of a Song 

 Thrush on a wooden bar inside a cattle 

 shed, and all of them were within a few 

 yards of suitable hedgerows. The struc- 

 ture is composed of small dead twigs, 

 roots, dry grass, and moss intermixed with 

 clay or mud, and lined with fine, dry grass. 



The eggs, numbering from four to six, 

 are of a dull bluish-green, spotted and 

 blotched with reddish-brown and grey. 

 Occasionally specimens may be met with 

 having a few hair-like lines on the larger 

 end. The eggs vary considerably in re- 

 gard to size, shape, and coloration. 



Blackbirds breed from March until 

 June, July, and even August, and have 

 been known to rear as many as four 

 broods in a single season. Young birds 

 of the first brood sometimes help their 

 parents to feed the chicks of a second 

 family. 



The glory of an Ouzel's song consists 

 not so much in its variety and compass 

 as in the rich, flute-like melodiousness 

 of its tones and the easy, leisurely manner 

 of their delivery. They are readily dis- 

 tinguished from the hurried, vehement, 

 hope-inspiring notes of the Song Thrush 

 by their mellowness, stately delivery, 

 and touch of melancholy. 

 28 



