346 THE BLACKBIllD. 



little command of themselves in a gale. If the season is variable, 

 they work their way southward, but suffer very much from 

 hunger and fatigue ; and many of them are smothered in the 

 snow, if overtaken by heavy falls, in their attempts to pass the 

 central heights. 



" Redwings, as well as Fieldfares, are often found in those parts 

 of Britain which have the greatest resemblance to the countries 

 where they nestle, as late as the middle of May, or even the first 

 of June, detained, no doubt, chiefly by the east winds, which 

 blow dry and cold at that season ; but the same instinct, the 

 same obedience to the state of the weather which retains them 

 with us, prevents them from breeding, or even singing in this 

 country. BULLOCK mentions their breeding in the island of 

 Harris, but that is out of the line of their ordinary migration ; 

 and though it may be true in the instance which he gives, it is 

 certainly not true as a general feature of the ornithology of that 

 island. The song of the Redwing is not known there, any more 

 than it is on the coast of Northumberland or East York ; but 

 where any singing bird breeds regularly, its song is sure to be 

 known, not to naturalists merely, but also to the country people." 



141. THE BLACKBIED. 

 Turdus Merula, LIN. Merle, BUF. Die Schwarzdrossel, BECH. 



Description. This bird, the most docile of all Thrushes, is 

 about the size of the Song Thrush, being nine inches and a 

 half in length, of which the tail measures four inches. The 

 beak is one inch in length, and bright yellow ; the iris dark 

 brown; the feet black, and fourteen lines in height. The 

 male is black all over the body ; the female blackish brown, 

 tinged on the breast with rust-colour, and on the belly with 

 grey. She seems also to be somewhat larger than her mate, 

 which has led some persons into the mistake of describing her 

 as a separate species. As in the case of other species of Thrush, 

 varieties of this bird have been noticed. For example, the 

 White, Grey, White-headed, Yariegated, &c. 



Habitat. The Blackbird inhabits nearly the whole of the 

 Old World, and in Europe is found as far north as Sweden. In 

 Germany it is the only species of Thrush which is not migra- 

 tory. 



In confinement it is advisable to keep the Blackbird in a 

 large cage, as, if allowed to range the room, it is apt to become 

 tyrannical and violent, and, like the Tits, often kills smaller 

 birds. 



