ON MOORS, COMMONS, AND HEATHS. 147 



the Blackbird. It builds the same bulky kind of 

 nest, placing it in some bush on the wild banks of 

 the mountain stream, among the heather branches, 

 or even on the ground at the top of a bank. 

 Here the female lays her four or five eggs, which 

 cannot safely be distinguished from those of the 

 Blackbird. The only way to be sure of them is 

 to see the parents ; and there is little difficulty in 

 doing this, for of all birds they are perhaps the 

 most clamorous and intrusive when their nest is 

 approached. They seem to discard all personal 

 safety, and fly round and round and perch on 

 the rocks and bushes near, all the time uttering 

 harsh cries. Even for their unfinished nest they 

 show an affection perhaps only equalled by the 

 Chaffinch. The food of the Ring Ousel is chiefly 

 composed of worms, snails, and beetles ; but in 

 the late summer and early autumn the bird feasts 

 on the mountain berries, even at this season 

 visiting gardens near its haunts to pilfer peas, 

 cherries, and other fruits. By the middle of 

 September many Ring Ousels have already 

 begun to move south, and the migration lasts 

 about a month, being much more leisurely per- 

 formed than in spring. 



There are two other Passerine birds that are 

 dwellers on the moors, and which we are almost 

 certain of meeting with any time during the 

 summer months. The first of these is the TWITE widely 

 (Fringilla flavirostris\ a bird very closely allied dl 

 to the Linnet. Although the Twite does not 

 leave our islands, its migrations are remarkably 

 regular. Its home and breeding-place is on the 

 moors ; but its winter refuge is the lower ground, 

 and during that season it may be met with in 



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