SONG THRUSH. 5 



morning of I2th March 1877, the weather being hazy, several 

 struck the lantern ; again on 27th April 1883, one was killed ; 

 on the 7th May of the same season four more were immolated, 

 while on 7-8 th February 1899, many perished at the same 

 light station.* 



Nidification commences early, for it is not an uncommon 

 event to find young birds some days old early in April, and 

 nests and eggs have been seen in the county much earlier, 

 while during the abnormally mild winter of 1843, a nest with 

 three eggs was found near Campsall, in South Yorkshire, on 

 Christmas Day (Schroeder's " Annals of Yorkshire," 1851, p. 

 350) ; in 1900, one with two eggs was recorded at Pannal, 

 near Harrogate, on I7th December ; and another, containing 

 a complement of four, was discovered at Yearby, near Redcar, 

 on i8th February 1904. The latest date known to me for 

 eggs is the 27th July ; though young ones, about ten days 

 old, were noted near Bradford on 28th August 1905. Occa- 

 sionally eggs marked with large red spots, or rather blotches, 

 are obtained ; spotless examples are frequently found, and 

 a clutch of the unusual number of eight, was described by 

 Mr. Leonard Gaunt of Farsley (in Hit. 2ist April 1901). 



The Throstle, as it is locally called, is double-brooded, 

 and sometimes rears both broods in the same home. This 

 species, like the Blackbird, has been known to nest on the 

 ground, and several instances of this departure from its 

 usual habit are known in Yorkshire ; a most unusual number 

 was found in the spring of 1903, the long continuance of 

 gales in the early part of the year having probably induced 

 the birds to select low situations. A curious nesting site 

 is described in the Naturalist (1876, p. 155), an old tea-kettle 

 hung on a branch in a plantation near Huddersfield having 

 been selected ; but a yet more unusual position was chosen 

 at Netherton, near Huddersfield, on a ledge of an iron pillar, 



* Mr. W. Eagle Clarke has published a very complete account of the 

 migration of this species in the Report of the British Association for 

 ,900, pp. 404-409. 



