142 RIVERSIDE LETTERS XIX 



fare very badly ; the thrushes will persist 

 in keeping on the ground, they do not alight 

 on to the feeding board but creep about and, 

 as it were, "stalk" their food stealthily and 

 deliberately ; in consequence of which the 

 other more alert birds snatch it away from 

 under their very beaks. As to the black- 



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Thrush in Cold Weather. 



birds, they waste the best part of their time 

 in fighting and chasing away each other 

 and the smaller birds. I am quite at a loss 

 to know how to manage the stuff so that 

 these two sorts should get their proper share. 

 The thrushes look by far the most miserable 

 of any of the birds, with their feathers all 



