ioo WITHIN AN HOUR OF LONDON TOWN. 



clever and amusing as any Indian mynah. I prefer 

 him, for more reasons than one ; it is impossible to 

 teach a blackbird naughty things, such as a mynah 

 acquires very easily. 



The song-thrush, or mavis, is so well known that 

 we need not enter into details to any great extent 

 about him or his ways. As a destroyer of snails 

 we place him in the first rank. He is a gentle bird, 

 and his song is as well known as that of the lark. 

 He, too, like the blackbird, sings after a shower; 

 but his note is a very different one ; besides this, 

 he sings far more frequently than the blackbird, 

 and there are more of the former birds about than 

 of the latter. Taking the year all round, we have, 

 at a rough computation, considered that you would 

 see four thrushes to one blackbird. I do not state 

 this as a fact ; blackbirds are more hideling birds 

 than thrushes, and far more wary in all their actions ; 

 it is only my impression in a general way, after years 

 of observation. The blackbird likes fruit ; the song- 

 thrush will have it when there is any ; strawberries, 

 raspberries, currants, gooseberries, he will have at 

 any risk if he dies in the attempt, which is frequently 

 the case ; cherries, too, he loves dearly. 



