AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 91 



four-footed enemies. This Thrush nests very early, 

 and rears two broods in a season. In September we 

 meet with them in small flocks frequenting our 

 pasture-lands, and apparently finding their food on 

 the ground. In an ordinary winter they take to the 

 thorn bushes and fences in search of berries ; but 

 very severe weather drives most of them southwards, 

 though they will linger on with us longer than the 

 winter Thrushes, Fieldfare and Redwing. The 

 Devonshire name for this Thrush is " Holm-screech," 

 in parts of Berkshire it is known as " Yelpingale ; " 

 in Warwickshire I have heard it called " Storm- 

 Throstle ; " and somewhere " White-Felt," i. e. White 

 Fieldfare. Gardeners accuse the Missel-Thrush of 

 being very destructive to various kinds of fruit, but I 

 know of an instance of a pair of these birds nesting 

 in an apple-tree in a fruit-garden and remaining 

 unmolested by the gardener, who condoned their 

 depredations, as he said, because they allowed no 

 Blackbirds, Song-Thrushes, Jays, or Squirrels to 

 intrude upon their domain. I have myself seen one 

 of these birds fly furiously at a Squirrel, and, being 

 joined by his mate, drive the little animal from bush 

 to bush to a considerable distance from their nest. 



30. SONG-THRUSH. 



Turdus musicus. 



The Song-Thrush, or, as it is generally called in 

 this neighbourhood, Mavish (properly Mavis), is 

 exceedingly common with us, and I fear that I can 

 relate nothing with regard to its habits which is not 

 already well known, except, perhaps, the fact, which 

 does not seem to be very generally recognized, that it 



