266 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



of those who have heard them do so, have yet to learn 

 that these docile birds are not only remarkable for 

 their musical talent, but for their proficiency in lan- 

 guages also, and even their classical associations. We 

 extract the following from the Article on Starlings in 

 the Cyclopaedia of Natural History : " Their aptness 

 to imitate the sound of words was not unknown to the 

 ancients, for Pliny alludes to the starlings which were 

 trained for the amusement of the young Caesars, as 

 being capable of articulating both Latin and Greek." 

 Again, "It is mentioned that when Monsieur Gerardin 

 visited his friend, Monsieur Thirel, in Paris, he was 

 agreeably surprised and astonished by hearing a star- 

 ling articulate a dozen consecutive sentences, with the 

 same precision as if they had been spoken by some 

 person in the next room ; and when the bell rang for 

 mass, the same bird called to its mistress by name, 

 ' Mademoiselle entendez-vous la Messe que 1'an sonne? 

 Prenez votre livre et revenez vite donner a manger a 

 votre polisson ' ' Miss, do you hear the bell ringing 

 for mass ? Take your book, and make haste back to 

 feed your saucy pet.' " An accomplished individual 

 of this species not long since died in the kitchen 

 department at Uppark, after having entertained his 

 mistress with his little eccentricities for the long period 

 of thirteen years. 



The Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus] visits our downs 

 in October, on its way to its winter quarters, and 

 again in April on its return ; but no well authenticated 

 instance of its nesting here has come to our knowledge. 

 Of the Blackbird (Turdus merula), the Missel Thrush 

 (Turdus viscivorus], and the Song Thrush (Turdus 

 musictts), we have quite a different tale to tell, the 

 numbers of the blackbird and the song thrush, 

 especially are proof against every thing but a severe 

 winter. From a letter written in 1859, f which we 

 possess a copy, we extract the following : " blackbirds 

 and thrushes have been and still are innumerable, and 



