58 Bird-keeping. 



larvae, and when these fail, on the berries of the ivy, 

 hawthorn, and holly. In confinement it is tame and 

 docile : it must be treated like the Thrush, but cannot 

 bear much heat. 



The FIELDFARE (Turdus pilaris) is larger than the 

 Redwing, and its throat and breast are of a very bright 

 yellow, spotted or streaked with black. It visits Eng- 

 land in flocks in November, but its native country is 

 Norway, where it lives in colonies. It is not a very 

 desirable cage bird, but is used by bird-catchers as a 

 decoy. It may be fed like the Thrush, or on bread 

 crumbs, crushed barley, and grated carrot. It should 

 have some animal focd also, and fruit, for in its wild 

 state the Fieldfare lives chiefly upon worms and insects, 

 and on juniper and other berries in the winter. 



Many of the American Thrushes have a very sweet 

 song, especially the MIGRATORY THRUSH, sometimes 

 called the American Robin, a grey bird with an 

 orange-red breast ; and the Wood Thrush. The best- 

 known of these birds is the MOCKING BIRD (Mimus 

 polyglottus), which has a very fine and melodious voice, 

 and moreover a wonderful capacity for imitating the 

 notes of any other bird, and reproducing them exactly. 

 It is said to sit upon the branch of a tall tree, and 

 throw itself into the air as it sings, as if intoxicated 

 with the sweet sounds it pours forth ; but when it 

 comes near to the dwellings of man, it imitates all the 

 harsh sounds it hears produced by the saw, the ham- 



