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ROCK THRUSH. 



Turdus saxatilis, TEMMTNCK. 



Petrocincla saxatilis, VIGORS. GOULD. 



Turdus A Thrush. Saxatilis Pertaining to Rocks. 



Saxum A Rock. 



THIS bird is a native of Europe, Asia, and Africa, fre- 

 quenting the most desolate parts of mountainous and rocky 

 districts, where culture is next to impossible, and comparative 

 security is therefore gained. The wild fastnesses of the great 

 chain of the Uralian Mountains, the precipices of the snow- 

 clad Alps, the gorges of the Pyrenees, and other kindred 

 places, give it a home and an abiding place in Germany, 

 France, and Switzerland, Spain, and the Tyrol, Italy, Turkey, 

 Sicily, and the islands of the Grecian seas. 



Our only specimen 'vix ea nostra voco,' was shot on the 

 19th. of May, 1843, by Mr. Joseph Trigg, at Therfield, near 

 Royston, in the county of Hertford. Mr. Yarrell was the 

 first to give a figure of it as a British species. Another 

 individual is also mentioned by him, as having been said to 

 have been killed by a gamekeeper, but neither date nor 

 locality is recorded. 



It migrates in the colder season of the year from the more 

 northern to the more southern of the countries mentioned 

 above. 



It is a very shy bird, but nevertheless is capable of being 

 kept in confinement. 



Its food consists of insects and berries of various kinds. 



The Rock Thrush is an excellent songster, and has been 

 known to sing at night if a candle was brought into the 

 room in which the cage was placed. 



The nest is said to be made of moss. It is placed in 

 crevices of rocks, whether those which have fallen clown from 



