RED-BREASTED THRUSH. 277 



the upper parts of the plumage dark griseous, the 

 lower pale, with a red tinge, with the lower parts 

 of the breast, and upper parts of the belly, spotted 

 with fuscous, as are also the sides of the throat, 

 which is whitish : the sides of the body, beneath 

 the wings, are rufous : it has very much the ap- 

 pearance of the Fieldfare. 



This bird is a native of the greatest part of North 

 America, being found from Hudson's Bay to 

 Nootka-Sound on one hand, and as far as Georgia 

 on the other : it is a very familiar bird, and is 

 often kept by the Americans in confinement for 

 its song, which is exceedingly fine, and is con- 

 tinued nearly without intermission during the 

 months of April and May : its eggs are of a beau- 

 tiful clear blue colour, and the nest is generally 

 placed in a tree : it is fond of gum berries, of 

 which it will eat such immense quantities in the 

 autumn as to give its flesh a purple tinge ; and 

 that circumstance has tended very much to keep 

 the bird from being extirpated in North America, 

 as they used to be shot by thousands for food, 

 until a gentleman, that had great regard for the 

 species, asserted that they were poisonous, in con- 

 sequence of eating so many berries ; and when 

 the flesh appeared purple upon being opened, the 

 inhabitants were afraid to eat them : its general 

 food consists of insects and worms. 



