THE BLACKBIRD. 35 



from observations made in a single district, we may 

 quote a sentence from Macgillivray, who says of 

 this bird: " Even in severe weather in winter 

 Blackbirds are not gregarious ; and on no occasion 

 have I seen more than three or four together, and 

 that only for a few minutes." No doubt this was 

 perfectly true of the locality or district in Scotland 

 where this observation was made ; but, as shown 

 by the remarks of other naturalists above quoted, 

 it by no means admits of general application. 



On one occasion when partridge shooting early 

 in September, in West Sussex, we were so aston- 

 ished at the extraordinary number of Blackbirds 

 which continued to rise from a field of turnips that 

 after a bit we commenced to try and count them, 

 and estimated that there were at least seventeen to 

 an acre ! From an examination of the stalks and 

 under sides of the turnip-leaves, we concluded that 

 the chief attraction for the Blackbirds there was 

 the quantity of small meadow slugs, Limax agrestis, 

 which abounded. 



The Blackbird, like the Thrush, is very fond of 

 the banded snails, Helix hortensis and nemoralis, 

 and gets at them in the same way namely, by 



