THE MISTLE-THRUSH. 395 



little moss in foundation. Eggs. Usually 5-6, sometimes only 4, 

 while 7 and 8 are on record. Variable ; many like Blackbird's, but 

 some have bright blue ground and others are boldly blotched or 

 capped with red-brown. Average of 100 eggs, 28.8x20.9 mm. 

 Breeding-season. In April in Poland, but May to July in Scandi- 

 navia ; double-brooded. Incubation. No reliable data ; probably 

 chiefly by hen. 



FOOD. Varied, both animal and vegetable. Mollusca (slugs and 

 small land -shells) ; annelida (earthworms) ; insects (coleoptera, 

 diptera (larvae), etc.). Also many kinds of berries (hawthorn, 

 holly, mountain ash, yew, rowan, juniper, dog-rose, pyracanthus, 

 etc.) and swedes attacked, especially in hard weather. Grain also 

 taken. 



DISTRIBUTION. British Isles. Winter- visitor and passage-migrant. 

 Generally distributed. 



MIGRATIONS. British Isles. From Shetlands to Wash small 

 numbers arrive last week Sept. and early Oct. (early dates Sept. 7 

 Antrim, 16 Kent, 18 Yorks.), followed by large immigrations until 

 third week Nov., and spread west and south-west to winter-quarters. 

 Smaller streams, probably after an overland flight, pass down 

 west coast Scotland and through the isles, the latter reaching 

 winter-quarters in Ireland. Some of those passing down either 

 coast are passage-migrants, and leave the country from western 

 half of southern seaboard. Southward " weather-movements " 

 occur in winter. Passage-migrants arrive on south coast England 

 from late March through April to early May. These join our 

 winter- visitors, which leave much as they arrived throughout April 

 to early, and sometimes mid, May, and even the end of the month 

 in the northern isles (late dates Northants., May 23, Perthshire, June 

 10, 1915, Cumberland, July 11, 1918, Leicestershire, July 29, 1864). 



DISTRIBUTION. Abroad. North Europe and north Asia, east to 

 Lena, south to parts of Germany, Austria and Hungary, wintering 

 in central and south Europe, in small numbers to north-west Africa 

 and north-west India. Casual Iceland, Jan Mayen, Madeira and 

 Canaries. 



TURDUS VISCIVORUS 



1 65. Turdus viscivorus viscivorus L. THE MISTLE-THRUSH. 



TURDUS VISCIVORUS Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 168 (1758 Europe. 

 Restricted typical locality : England ; cf. Hartert, Vog. pal. Fauna, i, 

 p. 647, note). 

 T urdus viscivorus Linnajus, Yarrell, i, p. 258 ; Saunders, p. 1. 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 15). Adult male and female. Winter. Fore- 

 head, crown, nape, mantle and scapulars brown to greyish-brown, 



