194 OUR IRISH SONG BIRDS. 



ODDS AND ENDS OF BIRD-LIFE 



FOR 



MY YOUTHFUL READERS. 



The largest European song bird is the Missel Thrush. 



The smallest European bird is the Golden-crested Wren. 



The smallest European Thrush is the Redwing. 



The migratory Thrushes are the Ring-Ousel (summer), and the 

 Fieldfare and Redwing (winter). 



The gregarious Thrushes are the Missel Thrush, the Fieldfare, 

 the Redwing, and the Ring Ousel. 



The only song bird not heard during the time of incubation is 

 the Missel Thrush. 



The Golden Oriole and the Mocking-bird of America (Mimus 

 polyglottus) are also allied to the Thrushes. 



White's Thrush is a singularly beautiful bird. 



The only bird able to walk down a tree head foremost is the 

 Nuthatch. 



No Woodpeckers are indigenous to Ireland, and of the Carrion 

 Crow but one specimen is known. 



The Sedge Warbler is often called "the Irish Nightingale." 



The only bird peculiar to Great Britain is the Red Grouse, to 

 which some would add the St. Kilda Wren. 



The bird which in Ireland is called the Yellow Wagtail is known 

 to naturalists as the Grey Wagtail ; the true Yellow, or Ray's 

 Wagtail, is a very rare bird in this country. 



The Pied Flycatcher is usually the last to arrive of English 

 summer migrants. 



