166 CANARIES A. YD CAGE-BIRDS. 



BROWN THRASHER AND OTHER AMERICAN THRUSHES. 



IT would appear, from the very few Brown Thrashers which are seen in a caged 

 state, that the beauties of the song are unknown. The Thrasher is as common as 

 any American bird known, and, when in full song, is even a rival of the great Mock- 

 ing-bird. An imported bird of the same name brings treble the price of the domes- 

 tic bird, and yet the song is no better. It must be true in this case, that the article 

 with a foreign brand has the value, whether worth it or not. 



The Brown Thrasher is known by the name of the French Mocking-bird in 

 Maryland, a name which is in no way misapplied. He is the largest of all Ameri- 

 can Thrushes, being eleven inches and a half in length. The whole upper parts 

 are a rich reddish brown ; the tail very long and rounded, and of the same color ; 

 the lower parts are yellowish white ; the breast and sides are beautifully marked 

 with long, pointed spots of black, running in chains ; the bill is very long and stout, 

 the upper mandible overhanging the lower. The female may be distinguished from 

 the male by the smaller number of spots on the breast, and the duller color on the 

 back. 



The Thrasher's song is a delightful variety of whistling-notes ; and on a clear 

 day he may be easily heard at a distance of a half-mile chanting his charming song, 

 which drowns all insignificant warblers into silence. The notes bear a great resem- 

 blance to those of the European Song Thrush ; and, if not as mellow, the} 7 are 

 louder and more varied, and the whole a more brilliant work. He is indeed one 

 of our most welcome spring visitors, and, to a lover of the beautiful in nature, one of 

 its most striking objects. He is a very sagacious bird ; and his powers of reasoning, 

 which can be seen by his many acts when he is in a state of domestication, are 

 something remarkable. The Brown Thrasher, owing to his size, should have the 

 largest-sized Mocking-bird cage, and be fed in the same manner as all soft-bill 

 birds. 



THE WOOD THRUSH. 



This species measures eight inches in length, and the colors resemble those of 

 the Brown Thrasher. He is a bird rarely seen, being content to be listened to. His 

 voice is described as being something wondrous in power and compass, and he is 

 frequently compared to the great European Nightingale. Like him, he pours forth 

 his melody in the evening. He is comparatively little known as a cage-bird, al- 

 though it is maintained that he sings equally as well in confinement as in his native 

 state. He inhabits the whole of North America, and arrives in the northern parts 

 about April 20, and announces his arrival in a most emphatic manner by the 



