He suffers no magpie, jay, or blackbird to enter the garden where he Hues 



The Gallant Storm-Cock 



MASTER of the Coppice ! this noble title- is well 

 deserved by the gallant bird, well called also, storm- 

 cock. 



We do not often find him defeated, as by the magpies 

 in the story : he will drive a rook from his nest, and 

 attack jackdaws cunning birds which still may 

 succeed in sucking the thrush's eggs. One brave 

 mother missel-thrush was seen to attack a rat which 

 climbed to her nest, driving at the robber with such 

 fury and force as to strike him from the branch where 

 he crouched. 



The storm-cock is the bravest and largest of our 

 six thrushes : in length he measures some eleven 

 inches, or three inches more than the song-thrush. 

 The upper parts are greyish brown, the back greyer 

 than the song-thrush's, the under parts are white, just 

 tinged with yellow, and on the throat and breast are 

 numerous black spots. When flying the missel-thrush 

 shows the white feathers on either side of the tail. 



From midwinter to the time of white violets his 

 clear, loud, ringing notes are often heard, as he sits on 

 the topmost branch of a tall tree. He utters a very 



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