THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 



feeding on the ground almost invariably seeks a refuge 

 in the highest branches. It obtains much of its food on 

 the ground, searching pastures, turnip-fields, and so forth 

 for worms and grubs. It is also very partial to many 

 kinds of berries and small fruits, roaming far and wide, 

 especially in autumn and winter, in quest of them. In 

 the matter of its music the Missel-Thrush is unique among 

 British birds. The song is commenced in autumn, 

 continued through the winter, and ceases in April, just 

 when the voices of other Thrushes are at their best. It 

 is a loud, wild song, uttered in fitful snatches from the 

 tree-tops, not quite so flute-like as the Blackbird's, but 

 otherwise resembling it, and nothing nearly as varied as 

 the Throstle's. The call-notes are harsh and grating, 

 especially when the nest is disturbed. This Thrush 

 pairs early in February, and a few weeks later nesting 

 operations are in progress. The nest is built in tall trees, 

 often in a fork or on a branch close to the stem, and less 

 frequently at a lower elevation in a birch, hawthorn, or 

 even an evergreen. It is made of dry grass, sphagnum 

 or other mosses, tufts of wool, and slender twigs, lined 

 first with mud and then with a thick layer of fine grass. 

 The eggs are normally four, bluish, greenish or reddish 

 in ground colour, spotted and blotched with reddish 

 brown and grey. Two broods are frequently reared in 

 the season. As soon as the breeding season is over the 

 Missel-Thrush assembles into flocks, but as winter ap- 

 proaches these disband to a great extent. The bird is 

 now exceptionally wild and wary, often consorting with 

 Fieldfares, a marked change in its habits from the early 

 spring months, when it frequently makes its nest quite 

 close to houses and in much-frequented spots. In fact, 

 the Missel-Thrush is an anomaly in many respects. 



The adult Missel -Thrush has the general colour of the 

 upper parts pale olive-brown ; the under parts are dull 

 white boldly spotted with dark brown ; the outermost 

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