TURDIN./E. TURDUS. 125 



neck ordinary ; body compact ; legs rather slender ; tarsus 

 moderate, compressed, anteriorly with a long plate and four 

 scutella, posteriorly with two longitudinal plates ; toes of mo- 

 derate length, with large scutella ; the third and fourth 

 slightly connected at the base, the lateral about equal ; claws 

 slender, compressed, laterally grooved, arched, acute. Plu- 

 mage rather blended ; short basirostral bristles ; wings of or- 

 dinary length or rather long, rounded ; first quill extremely 

 small, third and fourth longest ; tail moderate, or rather long, 

 slightly emarginate. 



The Thrushes feed on worms, larvae, insects, mollusca, soft 

 fruits and seeds. Their mode of progression on the ground 

 is by leaping, their flight moderately rapid, and somewhat 

 undulatory. They are remarkable for the mellowness of their 

 song. Seven species, of which three are resident, occur in 

 Britain. 



61. TURDUS MERULA. BLACK THRUSH, OR BLACKBIRD. 



Male with the bill yellow, the feet dusky, the plumage black. 

 Female with the bill and feet dusky, the plumage deep brown 

 above, lighter beneath, the throat and fore neck pale brown, 

 streaked with darker. Young dusky-brown above, with dull 

 yellowish streaks, yellowish-brown above, spotted with dusky. 



Male, 10J, 16, 5 T 5 ^, jf, 1 T \, 1, ft. Female, 10, 15. 



The Blackbird occurs in all the wooded and cultivated tracts 

 of England, Scotland, and Ireland, in winter frequenting the 

 neighbourhood of houses and towns, resorting to woods, 

 hedges, and gardens, and feeding upon snails, worms and seeds. 

 Its flight is steady, but along the hedges wavering and fitful. 

 It has a loud chuckling cry, and mellow, loud, clear song, 

 which continues from the beginning of spring to the middle of 

 July. The nest is bulky, composed of grass, moss, and other 

 materials, lined with mud, within which is a layer of fibrous 

 roots, grass, and sometimes leaves. The eggs, generally five, 

 are pale bluish-green, freckled with pale umber, but vary in 

 colour and form ; their average length an inch and a twelfth, 

 their breadth ten-twelfths. Permanently resident. 



Ouzel. Garden Ouzel. Merle. 



Turdus Merula, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 295. Turdus Merula, 

 Temm. Man. d'Ornith. i. 168, iii. 90. Turdus Merula, Black 

 Thrush, or Blackbird, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, ii. 81. 



