THRUSHES. 



473 



thrush. The adult male is greyish brown above, washed with golden on the 

 rump; the sides of the neck are greyish brown, streaked with darker; in the 

 tail the greater part of the outermost feathers are greyish white ; the throat is 

 white, finely spotted with brown ; and the under-surf ace buffy- white, closely spotted 

 with black. 



A favourite in many parts of Europe, the song- thrush (T. 

 Song-Thrush. .... J / ,, 



musicus) is in no degree dependent upon man tor its existence, 

 being, at least, as much at home among the surf -beaten rocks of the Hebridean 

 shores, as in the parks and orchards of the south of England. Breeding early in 

 the year, or rather commencing to do so, it rears several broods during the season. 

 Most nests are built of stems of grass and fibrous roots, interwoven with mosses, and 

 lined with clay ; but the prettiest we ever saw was entirely constructed of bright 

 green moss. The nest is often placed in a hedge or low shrub, sometimes in a niche 

 in an ivied wall, sometimes in a fruit - tree. Such song - thrushes as rear their 

 young amidst the treeless straths of the north of Scotland are content to build 

 their nests upon the ledge of some convenient boulder of rock, sheltered from the 

 weather. The eggs are bright blue, well spotted with dark brown. The song of the 

 thrush is generally poured forth from the bough of a tree ; but in Scotland thrushes 

 often sing from the roofs of houses, and even from a grassy knoll on the hillside. 

 The food of the song-thrush consists principally of earthworms and insects ; and 

 this bird confers a great benefit upon the gardener by the warfare which it wages 

 against snails. Near the sea, also, it feeds in the winter upon whelks and other small 

 molluscs, which it obtains upon the rocks of the shore when the tide has begun to 

 ebb. On the other hand, it must be admitted that the song-thrush consumes a 

 great deal of ripe fruit. In Norway it is a special favourite, and holds the same 

 place in Scandinavian poetry that the nightingale does in the songs of other 

 countries. The adult male is dark brown above, tinted with golden brown ; the 

 throat is buff; the under-parts being golden or buffy white, closely spotted with 

 brown. The song- thrushes, which breed in the Hebrides, are of a greyer color- 

 ation than more southern specimens. 



The most delightful song to be heard in the solitudes of the 



forest in Northern Europe is that of the redwing (T. iliacus), which 

 generally chants its flute-like melody from the top of a fir-tree. Never nesting 

 in colonies the redwing appears to seek the society of the fieldfare, since one is 

 sure to find a pair of redwings wherever a colony of the latter species exists. 

 Professor Collett says that in the eastern part of Norway the redwing builds 

 its nest in bushes and low trees, but in the barren, treeless portions of the west 

 coast of Norway, like the song-thrush of the Hebrides, it modifies its habits to 

 suit its surroundings ; the nest being often placed upon the ground, between stones, 

 on fences, or in stunted birch-trees. Redwings, like other thrushes, show great 

 anxiety if their nest be approached, snapping their bills, and uttering a mournful 

 cry. The eggs of this species are pale bluish-green, profusely covered with greenish 

 brown markings. In the fall of the year, redwings unite in large flocks, and many 

 of them cross the North Sea to the British Isles and Germany, migrating chiefly 

 at night, when they can often be heard passing over the housetops of our towns, 

 calling at frequent intervals to their companions. The redwing is not a very hardy 



