ROCK-THRUSHES. 



1!) 



altitude of 10,500 feet. (The Ibis, 1903, p. 205.) Three 

 examples are recorded as having occurred in England. 



According to Whitaker, this and the following species 

 are " true mountain birds, and rarely to be found at 

 any distance from rocky ground. The rougher and 

 more broken this may be, the better suited it is to the 

 tastes and requirements of the birds. Wooded districts 

 are more or less shunned, unless there should happen 

 to be rocky ground also near at hand. The favourite 

 haunts of Monticola, however, are undoubtedly wild 

 mountain ravines and valleys strewn with huge 

 boulders and rocks of every size, where a few dwarf 

 bushes and an occasional stunted and weatherbeaten 

 tree are the only signs of vegetation." (Whitaker, 

 " Birds of Tunisia," Vol. L, p. 17.) 



Russ says that " in its behaviour the Bock-Thrush 

 resembles the typical Thrushes less than the Chats and 

 Redstarts ; though like the former, it is wise and pro- 

 vident, lively and active. It flies lightly and rapidly, 

 generally in a straight direction, hovering and circling 

 before perching. It does not hop on the ground, but 

 runs with tail wagging or vibrating with numerous 

 rapid bows." (Fremdl. Weiehfutterfresser in " Fremdl. 

 Stubenv.," Vol. II., p. 168.) 



The nest is constructed in May or June in crevices 

 in rooks and walls, often in almost inaccessible spots ; 

 sometimes, however, in heaps of stone, and even among 

 the roots of trees in scrub, or holes in stumps ; in some 

 localities among ruins. It is roughly constructed of 

 moss, twigs, roots, bents, and blades of grass, upon a 

 foundation of dead leaves, and is neatly lined with 

 feathers and hair, or with fine rootlets and dry grass. 



The eggs are four or five in number, of a glossy, 

 bluish green colour, either spotless, or marked with a 

 few faint brown specks, usually at the larger end. Ac- 

 cording to Seebohm, the colouring is similar to eggs 

 of the Song Thrush, excepting that it is paler and the 

 eggs are rounder ; in tint he considered them inter- 

 mediate between those of the Song Thrush and 

 Starling. 



With regard to its vocal performances, Seebohm 

 says : " The song of the Rock-Thrush is, indeed, a sweet 

 and varied one, and in those countries it frequents the 

 bird is in the highest request as a cage songster, some- 

 times the most fabulous prices being paid for b ; rds 

 whose musical powers are beyond the ordinary degree 

 of sweetness and variation. Its wild, powerful song is 

 equal to that of the Blackcap, and, for variety and "bone, 

 comes little short of the ever-changing notes of the 

 Throstle and the rich flute-like warblings of the Black- 

 bird. Its call-note is a peculiar piping cry, sometimes 

 similar to that of the Ring Ouzel." ("Hist. Brit. 

 Birds," Vol. I., p. 283.) 



According to A. von Homeyer, the courting of this 

 species is conducted as follows : The bird stands in an 

 upright position, with spread wings and tail, which 

 beat upon the ground, with widely-spread back 

 feathers, the head thrown up and backward, the bill 

 widely open, and the eyes half closed. It lifts itself, 

 flutters and flaps, rising alo'ft after the manner of the 

 Larks, at the same time singing loudly and powerfully, 

 and then returning to its roost. 



Attempts to breed the Rock-Thrush in captivity have 

 been made by various avioulturists, some of whom have 

 been successful. According to Russ, Professor Liebe, of 

 Gera, first successfully bred it in 1871, and produced 

 several broods. He quotes the following account in 

 the -words of that birdkeeper : "After I had bred 

 Rock-Thrushes for three years in succession, I was able 

 to attempt further breeding from the young. With the 

 young females bred by me the attempt fell out badly, 

 since none of them would pair up, to say nothing of 



going to nest. It is possible that the males placed with 

 them had been taken wild and hand- reared, and there- 

 fore were too weak for these strong females ; anyhow 

 they always flew away from them. Thereupon further 

 breeding was carried on admirably with young males 

 bred by me, to whom I gave young hand-reared females 

 from Switzerland. I may now record the following 

 results. The breeding of the Rock-Thrush dn a small 

 windowed room, or in a very large birdcage, 

 is not very difficult. Complete seclusion, in 

 order to avoid disturbance, is not only unneces- 

 sary but is even detrimental, for thereby many 

 birds become wild and nervous ; whereas thoroughly 

 tame birds love the companionship of their keeper, 

 and, moreover, palpably crave for it. Only the exact 

 nesting-sites must be concealed from the eye of the 

 visitor as much as possible. The pair is unwilling to 

 nest excepting in a hole in brickwork, with a wide 

 entrance, or in an open but little conspicuous burrow. 

 For building material they only accept dry grass. 

 Nest-building commences in the middle of May, and by 

 the end of May the clutch is ready. After the hatching 

 of the young fresh ants' cocoons of the best quality and 

 mealworms are given. Coarse sand should not be lack- 

 ing with them. After four days the old female takes 

 them freshly-prepared old curd cheese. From the sixth 

 day onward cheese, ants' cocoons, and mealworms form 

 the chief constituents of the food of the young, but the 

 female seeks in the vicinity in all other food-dishes, 

 and now and again brings a scrap of cooked meat or 

 fruit and the like to the nest. All kinds of insects and 

 worms, as well as the flesh of fish, are also welcome 

 to her. The young grow up quickly, and become larger 

 and stronger than birds taken from the nest in the 

 open and hand-reared. After flight they accept the 

 ordinary food of the adults, and occasionally meal- 

 worms, and any other kinds of insects from out of 

 doors. For the young birds a large cage is necessary, 

 with so few. perches that they must use their wings, 

 and also some brickbats upon which they may sit." 



BLUE ROCK-THRUSH (Monticola cyanus.) 

 Male : Above and below deep slate-blue, wings and 

 tail brownish black ; bill and feet black, eyes brown. 

 Female : Above umber-brown, below mottled brown 

 and buff. Habitat, Southern Europe to Central Asia 

 as far as the Himalayas, Ceylon, Burma, and China, 

 wintering in North Africa and Arabia. A single 

 example is said to have been killed in the county of 

 Westmeath, in Ireland, in November, 1866. 



Colonel Legge says : " This species varies in its 

 habits according to the locality it frequents. Its usual 

 custom is, doubtless, as its name implies, to affect 

 rocky places, boulder-strewn hillsides, wild gorges, the 

 stony banks of rivers, the vicinity of mountain preci- 

 pices, and other barren and inhospitable spots ; and 

 when thus met with is a shy and wary bird, manifest- 

 ing a very restless disposition, flitting from rock to 

 rock, and uttering a clear whistle as it takes flight on 

 the approach of danger." Mr. Fair informs me that it 

 displayed all those restless manners on both occasions 

 when he met with it in the Ceylon hills. In parts of 

 India, however (and the same is the case with the 

 Eastern variety), it is quite a familiar bird, " perching 

 on house-tops, feeding about stables, and frequently 

 even entering verandahs, and sheltering itself during 

 the heat of the day on beams and the eaves of houses." 

 "It is, in fact," writes Jerdon, "supposed to be the 

 Sparrow of the English version of the Scriptures, 

 ' which _f,itteth alone on the house-top.' " Mr. Oates 

 has a similar experience of it in Pegu. He says that 



