FOR CAGES AND A VI ARIES. 13 



providing there is not too much cover, in which case they 

 would never be seen at all; but there must be some, 

 or the birds would not feel safe, and might hurt them- 

 selves and spoil their appearance by dashing about in a 

 panic at the sight of a cat or a stranger. 



Insects, snails, worms and fruit form the diet of the 

 Blackbird in its native haunts; in the house it should be 

 dieted like the Thrush, and will then live for a long time, 

 even twenty years, in health and beauty. There is an 

 absurd notion that hemp-seed is a suitable food for 

 Blackbirds in confinement, and sometimes it is given 

 whole and sometimes crushed ; but the practice only needs 

 mentioning to stand condemned. 



The nest has been found in December with eggs in it, 

 and the question arises, was it an unusually late or a 

 very early brood? In all probability it was the latter, 

 for January, February and March, according to the mild- 

 ness of the season, are the months commonly selected by 

 these hardy birds for setting up housekeeping. 



The second brood is produced in May, as a rule, and 

 there is occasionally a third in June, or even in July. 

 The eggs vary in number from three to six, but more 

 commonly four; the ground colour is pale greenish- 

 blue, thickly marked, especially at the larger end, with 

 lines and small spots of reddish-brown. 



The nest is placed in a variety of situations, sometimes 

 in a bush, or on a bank, in a hole in a wall, and even on 

 such an unlikely place as a shelf in a tool house. It is 

 constructed on the same principle as that of the Thrush, 

 but has a certain amount of lining, of which the other is 

 destitute. Incubation lasts about fifteen days, and is per- 

 formed by the female alone; both birds, however, attend 

 to the young, and are most energetic in their defence of 

 them, attacking without hesitation, and often successfully 

 beating off, such formidable foes as a cat or a bird of 

 prey, which they intimidate as much by their loud and 

 angry vociferations as by their direct assault with pointed 

 beak and powerful wing. 



If wanted for training, the young should be taken when 

 the wing and tail quills begin to sprout. They are no more 



