230 THE SMALLER BRITISH BIRDS. 



the same colour on the upper part, and nearly white, with a few bluish 

 feathers, on the lower. The chin, throat, and breast, are light chesnut 

 brown. The wings are dark brown, marked with white. The tail is 

 chesnut brown, with the two central feathers darker than the others. 

 The female is of a duller colour than the male. 



The Rock Thrush is said to be a very shy bird, rarely permitting 

 any one to come within gunshot. It builds a nest of moss in the 

 crevices of rocks, or in heaps of stones, and lays four eggs of a 

 greenish blue colour. Its food consists of beetles and other insects, in 

 search of which it has been seen turning over the smaller stones on 

 the bare sides of the mountains. When the ground is covered with 

 snow, and insects cannot be procured, it eats berries. Bcchstein says 

 it is an exceedingly good songster. 



THE BLACKBIRD, 



(Turdus menda.) 

 PLATE XV. FIGURE III. 



THE Blackbird is so common throughout the British Isles, that all our 

 readers must be familiar with his glossy black plumes, and bright yellow 

 bill. All over the European continent, too, he is more or less abundant, 

 from Norway and Sweden in the north, to the coasts of the Mediterranean 

 in the south. He is also to be met with in many parts of Asia and 

 Africa. 



This bird frequents thickets, hedges, woods, and plantations, but is 

 rarely seen in wild and uncultivated districts. In winter it approaches 

 houses and towns, concealing itself among thick vegetation in gardens 

 and shrubberies. Unlike most of the members of the Thrush family, 

 it is seldom met with in large flocks, more than a pair being rarely 

 seen in company, even in winter. In its habits it is shy and vigilant; 

 on the least alarm it takes wing, uttering at the same time a peculiar 

 loud chuckling cry; it rarely flies, however, to any great distance, but 

 hides in some neighbouring hedge or bush till the real or fancied 

 danger is past. The Blackbird is of a very lively and restless dispo- 

 sition. "It is amusing/' says Macgillivray, "to observe one that has 

 just alighted on a twig, and see how gracefully it bends forward, 

 throws up its tail, jerking it at intervals, depresses and at intervals 



