58 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



extends round the belly and sides; rest of the 

 under parts dull lead-colour ; legs, toes and claws 

 brown. 



The young birds have the whole of the upper 

 parts dull greyish brown ; wing- coverts and tertials 

 tipped with white ; feathers of throat and breast pale 

 buff, tipped with brown ; rest of under parts grey, 

 with darker lines. In this state it has been mis- 

 taken for a separate species and called the " Penrith 

 Ouzel." 



The eggs are pear-shaped, and pure white, a little 

 smaller than those of the Blackbird. 



MISSEL THRUSH, Turdus viscivorus. The Missel 

 Thrush, or " Holm Screech," as it is usually called 

 in these parts, may be frequently heard, singing 

 nearly, if not quite, as well as the Blackbird or 

 Thrush, all through the early part of the year, 

 especially before mild rainy or stormy weather, 

 from which circumstance it has acquired another 

 local name, the " Storm Cock." It is an early 

 breeder, and its nest, being built before the leaves 

 are much out, falls an easy prey to the youthful 

 birdsnester, in spite of the care with which the bird 

 attempts to conceal it by assimilating the outside to 

 the colour of the forked branch in which it is usually 

 built, the outside being formed of moss of the same 

 colour as that growing on the tree, bound together 

 with dry grass and covered inside with mud, and 

 lined with fine grass. Often such a litter of moss is 



