102 BRITISH LAND BIRDS. 



during all the hotter hours, while with expanded 

 wings and mouths gaping for breath, they screened 

 off the heat from their suffering offspring. 



The other, the PIED FLYCATCHER, is seen only in 

 particular places, and is very rare. It is a bird 

 of passage, and resembles the spotted in its 

 habits. 



The THRUSH TRIBE must next be mentioned. 

 There are several species in England. The missel 

 thrush, the fieldfare, the song thrush, the redwing, 

 the blackbird, the water ousel (or dipper), and the 

 ring ousel. 



The MISSEL THRUSH (so called on account of its 

 fondness for the mistletoe-berries), is one of the 

 largest of his kind, and is the earliest song-bird of 

 the year. His strain is something like that of the 

 blackbird, and he has a singular manner of giving 

 forth three distinct notes together, then pausing, 

 and after a time repeating his triplet note. Hence 

 he is sometimes called the thrice-cock, and as he 

 frequently sings before, and during the time of 

 wind and rain, he has also the name of storm-cock. 

 He is a bold bird, vigilant in defence of his young, 

 and when he utters his harsh note of alarm, it 

 serves, like the bugle-call, to warn all the 

 warblers of the grove that danger is near ; and 

 the chorus is silenced, until he again mounts to 



