SONG THRUSH 



Turdus musicus 



[HEREVER there are woods and thickets throughout our 

 Islands, the Song Thrush abounds. In the far north of 

 Scotland, where the birch-trees clothe the heathery steeps 

 of the glens, the bird is not so common, but a few pairs 

 are sure to be met with. It breeds in the Hebrides, the 

 Orkneys,- in Skye, and even on some of the smaller 

 rocky islands, such as the Bass Rock, on which, in 1895, 

 I found two nests in bunches of sea-campion on the grassy ledges near the 

 old buildings. In England the Song Thrush is only a partial migrant, most 

 of the birds remaining all winter in sheltered places; those which migrate 

 usually pass the winter in southern Europe or the north of Africa. 



The favourite haunts of the Song Thrush are the woods, plantations, and 

 copses in fact, anywhere that brushwood abounds, whether on the hillsides, 

 on the banks of streams, or along the hedgerows. In gardens and orchards, 

 and among the evergreens in shrubberies, the Song Thrush is one of the 

 commonest of birds, and seems to prefer the shiny foliage of the laurels and 

 hollies to that of any other shrub. In the wild glens of the north the 

 varied notes of this little songster add a charm to the grandeur of the 

 scenery. 



In its habits the Song Thrush is rather a retiring bird, and likes to 

 skulk among the thick evergreens where the branches hang down to the 

 ground ; in such places its presence is only betrayed by the rustling of the 

 dead leaves, as the bird turns them over in search of its food. When on 

 the wing, the Song Thrush takes much longer flights than its relative the 

 Blackbird, and may often be seen flying over the tops of the tall trees, on 

 its way to its feeding-grounds. In the autumn the Song Thrush may be 

 flushed in hundreds from the fields of turnips, where it repairs to feed on 



VOL. II. 2 G III 



