SONG-THRUSH 87 



corners and under hedges for snails ; when suc- 

 cessful the bird holds the snail in its beak and 

 beats the shell against a stone. I have even seen 

 one take hold of the snail and fling it violently 

 backwards and forwards until a piece of flesh 

 could be torn off, and then again pick it up to 

 repeat the performance until all could be eaten. 

 They will stand motionless, and watch the ground 

 under which a worm is moving, until it shows 

 itself, then striking with their beak downwards,, 

 will pull the worm from the earth and quickly 

 swallow it. I once watched a Thrush doing this 

 when the worm beneath happened to be a very 

 long one ; the Thrush's head was thrown back as 

 far as possible while pulling out the worm ; but 

 still there was a portion left in the ground, and 

 to get at this the bird stepped back a pace or two 

 and so managed to complete the task. 



The young, when having left the nest, will sit 

 on a branch near by for a long time, waiting for 

 food to be brought to them ; but when able to fly, 

 they very soon go to the meadows and obtain 

 supplies for themselves. 



During the greater part of the year Thrushes 

 feed on berries, the fruit of the hawthorn being 

 their principal food in winter ; and they then 

 utilise old nests such as are to be found in hedge- 



