THE BLACKBIRD. 33 



of strawberry plants, or through a cherry tree, would 

 cause more damage in one second than a Blackbird 

 could effect in an afternoon. But we fear these 

 gentry, as a rule, are not given to reflection, and 

 are too prone to act upon a sudden impulse. It 

 would be well if they could be persuaded to take 

 the advice of that Scotch poet who wrote : 



" Scare, if ye will, his timid wing away, 

 But, O, let not the leaden viewless shower, 

 Volleyed from flashing tube, arrest his flight, 

 And fill his tuneful, gasping bill with blood," 



that " orange-tawny bill " of which Shakespeare 

 has taken note ; the " golden bill " of Drayton's 

 "woosel." In some parts of the country the Black- 

 bird is still called " Ouzel " (evidently borrowed 

 from the French Oisel), although this name is more 

 commonly applied to the Ring Ouzel, Turdus tor- 

 quatus. 



In many respects what has been said of the 

 Thrush applies equally well to the Blackbird that 

 is, as regards haunts, food, and habits ; even the 

 habit of flocking in autumn, when a partial migra- 

 tion takes place. On the Northumberland coast, 

 according to Selby, vast flocks of Blackbirds make 



D 



