MISSEL THRUSH. 199 



leatus, which grows on bushy commons, are called Holm- 

 berries ; and as the Missel Thrush is a decided feeder on 

 berries generally, it may have acquired the name of Holm 

 Thrush from feeding on the Holm berry. 



This bird is not observed to be partial to low flat 

 land, near water, to which the word Holm or Holme is 

 also applied. 



The Missel Thrush is one of the earliest of our breeders, 

 beginning to build in April, and fixes its nest in the fork 

 of a branch of a tree, frequently that of an apple tree in 

 an orchard. The nest is composed externally of lichen, 

 moss, dry grass, and coarse stems of other plants. This 

 outside framework is coated internally with a layer of 

 mud, and this again is covered with a lining of fine grasses. 

 The nest is sometimes very artfully concealed by assimi- 

 lating the colour of the materials to that of the branch on 

 which it is placed ; but, on the contrary, it is sometimes 

 placed in the most conspicuous arid exposed situations, so 

 that it is scarcely possible to pass the nest without dis- 

 covering it. The eggs are four or five in number, of a 

 greenish white colour, spotted with red brown ; sometimes 

 the ground colour is reddish white, spotted with dark red 

 brown ; the length one inch three lines, the breadth eleven 

 lines, but occasionally varying in size. The female while 

 sitting exhibits much of the boldness of character observed 

 at that season in the male, and has been known to fly at 

 the face of a man who disturbed her. Two broods are 

 produced in the season, and during autumn and winter 

 small parties may be seen together, probably composed of 

 the parent birds and their young brood of the year. 



The flight of the Missel Thrush is rapid, but irregular 

 and uneven, being performed by a succession of jerks. Its 

 food is various soft-bodied animals, as worms, slugs, &c.; 

 some fruit in the season ; and it is also a most decided 



