THE SONG THRUSH. l.'>7 



THE SONG THRUSH. 



TIIK members of the Thrush family number about one hundred varieties, and 

 inhabit all parts of the globe. Of the entire number, probably the Song Thrush is 

 the best known : he is a kindly, intelligent-looking fellow, who pours forth his mel- 

 low song with as much vigor in his rude latticed cage before the hut of the poor 

 peasant as when free to fly over quiet glebes or in shady wood. There is no bird 

 which has the affectionate regard of the poorer classes of bird-lovers so fully as 

 the Song Thrush. Added to his great powers of song are his hardy qualities and 

 handsome mottled plumage. 



The Song Thrush measures about eight inches and a half in length. The 

 upper part of the body is a rich olive brown ; the throat light yellow, with a black 

 stripe down each side ; the sides of the neck and breast light reddish yellow, cov- 

 ered with numerous dark-brown heart-shaped spots ; the belly is white, with dark- 

 brown oval spots ; the outer wing-feathers have orange spots on the tips ; the inner 

 wing-feathers are light orange. In the female several little streaks are substituted 

 for the black lines on the throat ; the breast is a pale whitish yellow ; and the 

 orange spots on the wing-feathers are smaller than in the male. Thrushes build in 

 small pine or fir trees, and prefer to build in the neighborhood of a stream or brook. 

 The nest is formed of fine twigs or roots, and lined with mud. The female lays 

 from three to five eggs, and, when wild, rears as many as three broods in a season. 



The Song Thrush is the earliest breeder of all British birds, which accounts for 

 his commencing to warble so early in the year : the songs of all birds in a state of 

 nature are called forth by the impulses of courtship ; and they are, of course, noth- 

 ing more than the outpourings of love. 



It is said in general, that the notes of soft-billed birds are finely toned, mellow, 

 and plaintive ; those of the hard-billed species, sprightly, cheerful, and rapid. This 

 difference proceeds from the construction of the vocal organs. As a larger pipe of 

 an organ produces a deeper and more mellow-toned note than a small pipe ; so the 

 windpipe of the Nightingale or of the Thrush, which is wider than that of a Canary, 

 sends forth a deeper and more mellow-toned note. Soft-billed birds also sing more 

 from the lower part of the throat than the hard-billed species. This, together with 

 the greater width of the tube of the soft-billed birds, fully accounts for their soft, 

 round, mellow notes, compared with the shrill, sharp, and clear notes of the Canary 

 and other hard-billed songsters. 



The Thrush sings nearly the whole year, but in the spring his song is particiii 

 larly fine : he is often called in England the Ousel. Tennyson refers to him in the 

 lines, 



