560 



PASSERINES. 



Southern States. Its notes are so melodious that the conscientious 

 Audubon does not hesitate to rank them far above those of the 

 Nightingale. In addition to this, it possesses the wonderful 

 faculty of imitating the songs of other birds, and even the cries of 

 the mammals which make their abode near it. For this reason the 

 Indians call it the " Bird with Four Hundred Tongues/' Being 

 protected by the inhabitants of Louisiana, it does not seem to dread 

 the presence of man, and builds its nest with the utmost publicity 

 in the vicinity of dwellings. When it is captured before leaving 

 the nest it becomes very tame. 



The principal species of the Thrush are the Song Thrush, the 

 Redwing, the Mistletoe, and the Fieldfare. 



The SONG THRUSH, Mavis of the Scotch (Fig. 262), has enjoyed, 



Fig. iiG2. The Song Thrush (lurdus musicus, Lum.). 



ever since the days of antiquity, great reputation, not, as we might 

 have desired, for its vocal powers, but for the delicacy of its flesh. 

 The Romans appreciated these birds to such a degree that they were 

 in the habit of fattening them by thousands in immense aviaries, 

 cleverly combining the privation of light with a suitable diet. 

 Nowadays, Thrushes are not fattened artificially, because they 

 take very good care to fatten themselves in their autumnal visit 

 to the South of Europe ; for they gorge themselves to such an 

 extent with grapes, figs, and olives, that they attain an incredible 



