290 THE REDWING. 



The Thuringian peasant, according to M. Bechstein, has 

 also endeavoured to render the song of the thrush in words : 



David! David! 

 Drey Nossel fur eine Kanne, 

 Prosit ! prosit ! Kottenhans, 

 Kuhdieb! Kuhdieb! 



The song-thrush, we are told, not only uses water to 

 quench its thirst, and make its ablutions, but as a looking- 

 glass. For half an hour together it may be seen standing 

 by the side of a clear pool apparently admiring itself with 

 the greatest complacency. In this while it stations itself in 

 a variety of positions, seemingly for the purpose of ascer- 

 taining in which it appears to the greatest advantage. 



It is a very voracious bird, and, in captivity at least, will 

 eat almost as much as is given to it. It is said, indeed, 

 to devour its own weight of provisions in a day. The conse- 

 quence of its gluttony, which is characteristic of the tribe, 

 is that the bird cannot properly digest its food ; and a large 

 portion, such as kernels of berries, will pass through its body 

 altogether undigested. Hence the thrush has got the credit 

 of planting trees in a very dexterous manner, which has given 

 rise to the old saying : Turdus sibi ipse malum cacat. 



The Redwing (Rodvinge-Trast, or Redwing-Thrush, Sw. ; 

 T. iliacus, Linn.). This bird, the smallest of the Scan- 

 dinavian thrushes, was not seen with us except during 

 migration. It passes the summer months in the more 

 northern parts of the peninsula. " It is very common," 

 Malm tells us, " in all the forests, as well in northern Lap- 

 land as on the borders of the Icy Sea." When it appears 

 in the south of Sweden, it is generally in large flocks, and in 



