PAIRING AND EARLY SONG 381 



year. It consists of a phrase of three sweet notes, deeper 

 and richer than the song-thrush's, and repeated with little 

 variation often for a great length of time. On a February 

 or March morning, with a bright light and a strong wind 

 that bends the boughs, the missel-thrush will often sing 

 almost uninterruptedly hour after hour on some lofty perch 

 in a poplar or elm. It makes little 

 difference to the bird's spirit and 

 enjoyment if a driving north-west 

 wind brings showers of cold rain or 

 hail. The bird's apparent delight in 

 boisterous weather has given it the 

 common country name of storm- 

 cock. Blackbirds dislike such riotous 

 weather ; if they are heard in Feb- 

 ruary, it is generally on some morn- i 

 ing of premature sunshine, when 

 the crocuses in the south borders are 

 yawning their utmost to the bees, or 



at sunset on some unusually mild evening. Often they are 

 not heard until March. With a little practice it is not hard 

 to distinguish the two birds' songs. The missel-thrush's is 

 much more limited and monotonous ; and sweet as it is, it has 

 not the richness of the full notes that the blackbird seems to 

 turn over in its throat. Shyer and wilder than either the 

 song-thrush or the blackbird, its sweet but unskilled music 

 seems truly to fit its nature ; and the tireless song streaming 

 from aloft on some turbulent February morning is one of the 

 most satisfying of all sounds which tell of the oncoming of 

 spring. As missel-thrushes pair and search for nesting- 

 places, they very often draw closer to gardens and houses 

 than is their habit at other times of the year. This seems to 

 be due to their fear of carrion crows, which are inveterate 



MISSEL-THRUSH 



