THE MISSEL-THRUSH. 273 



the female as if she were expressing her confidence of safety 

 while he is on the watch, is harsh and grating, and has the 

 tone of a note of defiance. And, with the missel-thrush, the 

 defiance is no idle boast ; for the sneaking magpie, the light- 

 winged kestrel, and even the sparrow-hawk, are at those 

 times compelled to keep their distance, as the thrush is too 

 vigilant to be surprised, and under the sprays, where those 

 birds must contend with him upon equal terms, he keeps 

 them all at bay. Nor is he the guardian of his own family 

 only, he is in some measure the warder of the whole grove ; 

 and when the harsh but shrilly sound of his bugle note of 

 alarm is heard, all the warblers take heed of the danger, and 

 the chorus is mute till he again mounts the highest branch*, 

 and raises the song of deliverance. 



If the nest, despite his watchfulness, is robbed, the male 

 continues his song, till preparations are made for a new 

 brood ; and if he loses his mate, he continues in song all the 

 summer ; and therefore his note, which is anything but a 

 note of sorrow, partakes somewhat of that character of a 

 lament in solitude, which has poetically, but not really, been 

 considered as characteristic of the song of the nightingale 

 and the moan of the turtle. 



The purpose which the song of birds answers in the 

 economy of nature, is one of those mysteries which, like the 

 differences of tint in their plumage, human ingenuity has not 

 yet been able to explain. It is not, however, a mere pairing 

 cry, because it is continued till the birds break the shell, and 

 in some instances, till they are able to fly. We may be sure, 

 however, that it has its use ; and, as we can observe that the 

 females of all kinds which have that cry, whether it be what 

 we call song or not, are excited when it is uttered by the 

 male, it may be that it produces in the female that heat 

 which is necessary for hatching the eggs. In ourselves, there 

 are many sounds which make the heart beat, the blood dance, 



VOL. L T 



