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, 



" It 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 



