8 



KEARTONS' NATURE PICTURES 



MALE SONO THKUSII. 



One morning, whilst waiting for an 

 opportunity to take some moving pic- 

 tures of the thrushes feeding their chicks, 

 the male came sidling across a lawn 

 towards me in fighting attitude. For 

 a long time I could not understand the 

 reason for this strange behaviour, but 

 at last noticed a worm on the ground 

 close by where I was standing, and 



understood that he wanted the creature 

 and was threatening me. Retiring a 

 few paces, I watched him pick it up 

 and carry it off to his chicks in triumph. 

 After this I secured a garden fork and 

 frequently dug worms for him. We 

 were soon on the best of terms, and he 

 never went far in search of food when 

 he saw me with the implement in my 

 hands. 



The Song Thrush builds a nest quite 

 unlike that of any other British bird. 

 It is made externally of slender twigs, 

 dead grass, and moss, mixed with clay 

 or mud, and lined with cow-dung, or 

 mud mixed with dead wood. When 

 lined with the first-named material, it 

 will hold water to such an extent that 

 after a very heavy downpour of rain I 

 have seen the eggs under water. This 

 happened, of course, before the Thrush 

 had commenced to sit. Why the species 

 makes such a structure is a mystery, for 

 the hard lining is not an imperative 

 necessity, as is proved by chicks occa- 

 sionally being reared in a nest similar 

 to that of the blackbird, when the usual 

 materials for its interior cannot be 

 secured. 



