THE THRUSH. 7 



would not witlilioM it ; yet surely tlie caged bird, 

 made as it was with wings to fly, may claim some 

 pity as we remember how all its natural Impulses 

 must lead it to yeani for the green shadows, 

 the ready wing, and the notes of its old com- 

 panions. 



Hapj)ily for our native thrushes, however, they 

 may sing on, without danger of being seized to 

 contribute to the luxurious diet of the epicure. 

 Several birds of the thrush family arc nuicli in 

 request on the Continent fur food. The Italians 

 sell them in their markets, and highly prize them, 

 at the period when, having eaten hgs and grapes, 

 their flesh is said to be very highly flavoured. 

 Thrushes are very plentiful, during the vintage 

 season, on the southern coast of the Baltic. Klein, 

 who observes that there are, probably, more snares 

 laid for these birds than for any others, mentions 

 that the city of Dantzic alone consumes, every 

 year, eighty thousand pairs of thrushes. It has 

 been observed, in countries where they feed upon 

 grapes, that, dm-ing the season at which the fruits 

 are ri})e, the thrushes are easily taken, having 

 perhaps become inactive through repletion. 



The common song-thrush was, doubtless, one of 



