TURDID.E. BIRDS. THE MISSEL THRUSH. 



329 



found in small flocks about trees, and in gardens, and 

 wooded water- courses, and feeds both upon the ground 

 and amongst the branches. According to Mr. Elliott, 

 " its flesh is used by falconers as a restorative to the 

 Bhyree (Falcoperegrinus')" and is said to be very delicate, 

 THE BROWN LAKE (Anthus ludovicianus) is an 

 American species of Pipit which migrates southward 

 into the United States in the autumn, returning again 

 towards the north in April and May. It is six inches 

 in length, brownish-olive above, brownish-yellow 

 beneath, with black spots on the breast ; the quill 

 feathers of the wings are brown, the tertials black, 

 and the tail black, with the outside of the external 

 feathers white. It breeds in the Hudson's Bay Terri- 

 tory, and on the Labrador coast, and probably in all 

 the northern parts of the American continent, making 

 its nest on the ground at the foot of the rocks. 



FAMILY II. TURDIDJE. 



The birds of this family, which includes the well- 

 known Thrushes, and a great number of allied species, 

 have a bill of moderate length and thickness, with the 

 upper mandible arched and keeled above, and finely 

 notched or toothed near the tip on each side. The 



hinder part of the gape is bordered with a row of 

 rather short bristles ; and the nostrils, which are ol 

 considerable size and oblong in form, are placed on the 

 sides of the base of the upper mandible, and partly 

 covered by a membranous scale. The wings are gene- 

 rally well developed, as are also the legs, which have 

 the tarsi compressed, and usually clothed in front with 

 seven shields, of which, however, some are frequently 

 united so as to form a single plate, covering nearly the 

 whole front of the tarsus. 



These birds are distributed in all parts of the world. 

 Their food consists partly of insects, worms, and terres- 

 trial mollusca, and partly of fruits. Many of them possess 

 great powers of song. 



THE MISSEL THRUSH (Turdus wacnjortte) -fig. 110 

 which is also a permanent resident in this country, is 

 a much larger bird than the preceding, measuring about 

 eleven inches in length. The spots on the belly and 

 breast of this bird are rounded in form. The Missel 

 Thrush is generally met with in small woods, orchards, 

 and hedgerows ; its food consists of insects, worms, and 

 slugs, and in autumn and winter of fruits and berries. 

 Of the latter the berries of the misseltoe are said to 

 constitute a favourite portion of its food ; and by its 

 devouring these berries, and afterwards passing the 



Fig. 110. 



The Missel Thrush (Turdus viscivorus). 



seeds uninjured from its body, it is supposed to con- 

 tribute greatly to the diffusion of that singular plant. 

 The song of this Thrush is far inferior to that of the 

 Song Thrush, and somewhat resembles that of the 

 Blackbird ; it is often heard before storms of wind and 

 rain, and hence the bird is sometimes called the Storm- 

 cock. The nest is built in the forked branch of a tree, 

 VOL. I. 



and is composed .externally of moss, grass, and lichens, 

 and lined with a coating of mud, within which there is 

 a layer of fine grass. The eggs are greenish-white, 

 with reddish-brown spots ; there are usually four or five 

 of them in the nest. 



THE SONG THRUSH (Turdus musicus). This well- 

 known British bird, whose spotted breast and sweet 



