THE MISSEL THRUSH. 211 



Nests Food Manners. 



and sometimes on the summit of the most lofty, 

 preferring those which are most covered with 

 moss. The nest, which is large, is formed, both 

 within and without, of grass, leaves, and moss ; 

 it bears a greater resemblance to that of the 

 blackbird, than to that of the thrush, excepting 

 that it is lined in the inside. They breed twice 

 a year, producing four or five large eggs at each 

 clutch, and feed their young with caterpillars, 

 worms, and snails, whose shells they break in 

 order to get at them. The old birds subsist, in 

 summer, upon berries of every kind, cherries, 

 grapes, and other fruits, and in winter on the 

 berries of juniper, holly, ivy, but particularly 

 misletoe. 



This bird expresses its anger in a very harsh 

 note, between a chatter and a shriek. The male, 

 however, has a very agreeable voice, and begins 

 to sing very early in the spring, ch using for his 

 station the tops of the highest trees. The only 

 difference between the male and female is, that 

 the former has a greater proportion of black in 

 his plumage. 



M. de Montbeillard, the assistant of Buffon, 

 describes the manners of the missel thrush as 

 perfectly gentle and pacific. The truth of this 

 observation is, however, disputed by M. Le 

 Vaillant, who declares that it is the most quarrel- 

 some and petulant of birds. " This disposition," 

 he adds, " manifests itself in such a degree, that 

 when there are several of these birds in the same 

 2 D 2 



