266 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



every Thrush forget the cares of his family, and betake him- 

 self to the branch of a tree to sing lustily for a considerable 

 time. 



The Song-Thrush is a tame and confiding bird, and does 

 not forget the friends who feed and protect it during the 

 winter. Like the Starling, it keeps to the vicinity of the 

 houses where food is provided for it during the hard weather, 

 and makes its nest in the adjoining trees or ivy. When the 

 young are able to fly, they accompany the parent birds and 

 feed on the lawns and paths. They devour numbers of insects, 

 worms, and especially snails, the shells of which they break 

 against a stone or on the hard ground, apparently selecting 

 a special spot for this purpose. In the autumn, like other 

 Thrushes, they feed largely on fruit. 



Nest. This is a bulky structure, with a lining quite different 

 to that of the Blackbird's nest. It is composed of grass, with 

 a little moss and twigs ; it is then thickly coated inside with 

 mud or clay, to which is finally added a second lining of de- 

 cayed wood. This is applied in a wet state, and is smoothed 

 by the pressure of the bird's body, and sometimes even before 

 it is dry the eggs are laid, but generally a day or two are 

 allowed to elapse for the nest to dry before the eggs are 

 deposited. 



Eggs. From four to six in number. Their beautiful blue 

 colour is well known to everyone, and the eggs are spotted 

 with purplish-brown or black, more rarely with reddish-brown. 

 Eggs without spots are not uncommon, and in the British 

 Museum are two eggs which have the ground-colour china- 

 white with rufous markings. Axis, 1*05-1 '2 inch; diam., o'S-o'Q. 

 Our friend Mr. Robert Read tells us that he once found eight 

 eggs in a wood at Durham, which from their colour he judged 

 to be the product of two females, as there were two sets of 

 four each. He has found four spotless eggs and one normal 

 one in the same nest. The occurrence of the eight eggs 

 together apparently laid by two lien-birds is interesting, as it is 

 known that occasionally the birds build two nests in con- 

 junction. (Plate xxx., fig. i.) 



