262 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



the other Thrushes and Blackbirds, although, in their distress, 

 they become very tame, and we remember a little flock of 

 eleven birds coming to the kitchen-door of our house at 

 Chiswick a few winters ago, for several days in succession. 

 Several of them were caught, with their breast-bones nearly 

 through their skin, but all efforts to keep them alive failed. 

 The bird seems to be less able to accommodate itself to a diet 

 of berries than the Mistle-Thrush and the Fieldfare, though 

 we have known them, when hard-pressed, to feed on holly- and 

 ivy-berries. 



In its breeding haunts the Redwing is a very interesting 

 bird, and though not nesting in colonies, it is generally to be 

 found along with the Fieldfares, which do breed in numbers 

 together. The nest is generally placed on a small fir-tree, close 

 to the stem and not far from the ground ; sometimes it is 

 placed actually on the latter, as is always the case in the 

 Siberian " tundra " beyond the limit of forest-growth. In the 

 latter locality it breeds as late as the middle of July, but 

 further south generally early in June. 



Nest. This, according to Mr. Seebohm, passes through 

 three stages of construction, like that of all Thrushes. He 

 says : "The birds form a loose nest of moss, dry grass, and a 

 few fine twigs intertwined, the better to bind the materials to- 

 gether. This structure is then lined and plastered with mud 

 or clay, and finally a thick lining is made of fine dry grass, and 

 sometimes a few rootlets. It is neatly made, and somewhat 

 resembles the nest of the Ring-Ouzel, though it is smaller and 

 perhaps more firmly put together.' 



Eggs. From four to six in number. These are easily dis- 

 tinguished by their small size. Axis, o'95~i'o5 inch; diam., 

 07-0-8. The ground-colour is bluish-green, but is much con- 

 cealed by the clouding of the reddish markings which cover 

 nearly the whole of the egg. Occasionally the spots and 

 blotches are larger, and the eggs then resemble those of a 

 small Blackbird. Some eggs have such a uniform appearance 

 as to appear almost entirely olive, while there is also an 

 appearance of pencilled lines at the larger end. 



