142 WHY THE SCREECH, OR HOLM THRUSH. 



to the harsh screeching note which it frequently utters, 

 although it is not so devoid of melody as Knapp states it 

 to be. Macgillivray says that its song resembles that of the 

 Blackbird, but its notes are less mellow and modulated, 

 though equally loud. One of its popular names is the Holm 

 Thrush, probably owing to its partiality for the oak, from 

 the top of which it will sometimes repeat its song for an 

 hour together. The holm is an old name for the oak ; thus, 

 Spenser speaks of 



The fruitful olive and the plantaine round, 



The branched holm, the maple, seldom inward sound. 



The bird sometimes builds its nest in the oak ; this is 

 somewhat bulky, composed externally of twigs, straw, and 

 grasses of various kinds, interspersed with leaves arid mosses. 

 Within this is a layer of mud, often mixed with fine grass 

 or fibrous roots. Sometimes the exterior is covered with 

 grey lichens and mosses, so as to assimilate it to the bark 

 of the tree on which it is placed, not usually very high up. 

 The eggs, mostly four in number, are of a purplish white 

 colour, marked with irregular spots of light brownish red and 

 purplish red. Two broods are generally reared in a season. 

 The parent birds defend their eggs and young with great 

 courage, and drive off the Magpie and other assailants, in- 

 cluding even, it is said, the Sparrowhawk. Then we have it 

 on good authority that they themselves are obnoxious to the 

 charge of rapacity. Mr. Weir states that this is one of the 

 most voracious of our native birds, and says that he has seen 

 it carrying on its murderous operations, killing the young of 

 the Song Thrush and other birds, and bearing them off to 

 its nest. Such is, however, not their general food, and we 

 are inclined to think that their rapacity has been overrated, 

 though they are great destroyers of worms and snails. It 

 was observed by Mr. Weir that a pair of them, which had 

 built their nest at the extremity of the lowest branch of a 

 spruce, within thirty-three yards of his dwelling-house, fed 

 their young sixty-six times during the day, bringing each 

 time several large worms and snails. Before taking these 

 to the nest, they generally alighted upon two or three trees, 

 and remained some seconds upon each of them, looking 



