38 THE SONG-THRUSH 



The MISSEL or MISTLETOE THRUSH (Turdus viscivorus) is the 

 largest of the British resident Turdinae or true Thrushes, attaining 

 a length of n in., and is reddish-brown on the upper parts and 

 yellowish- white below, the under surface marked with jetty black 

 spots of triangular form on the throat and neck and round on the 

 chest and belly. The nest is made in a tree, and contains about 

 five reddish spotted eggs, breeding beginning early in April. Dur- 

 ing this season it is very pugnacious, attacking and driving other 

 birds of larger size, and at other times is said to persecute the song- 

 thrush. Bold and wary in character, also of solitary habits, it 

 certainly does not favour intruders, and though particularly fond 

 of fruit, the missel-thrush seldom visits cultivated fruits, but feeds 

 largely on wild fruits, such as mountain ash, holly, hawthorn, yew 

 and other berries, in copses and woods, and, as its name implies, 

 is very fond of the berries of the mistletoe. In comparison with the 

 song-thrush it is relatively scarce. It feeds largely upon worms, 

 snails, ground insects and larvae of various above-ground pests. 



The SONG-THRUSH, THROSTLE or MAVIS (Turdus musicus), 

 Fig. 31, charms alike in town and country with its sweet song, its 



FIG. 31. THE SONG-THRUSH AND SNAIL. 



powerful notes being heard in November and December, at the 

 new year when the weather is mild, and in early spring the groves 

 ring with its joy. The colour is a brown of different shades 

 on the upper parts, the chin white ; belly and under tail coverts a 

 greyish white. The throat, breast, and inner parts of the thighs 

 are yellowish, spotted with dark brown. The average length is 

 9 in. The nest is made in hedges and thickets, bushes and trees, 

 composed of roots and grass stalks with mosses, and plastered inside 

 with mud. The eggs are bluish green, spotted with deep reddish- 

 brown or black. Several broods are reared in a season. 



The song-thrush is familiar to all within hearing of its song in 

 town and country. It feeds upon worms and ground insects gener- 



