IV. 



A WINTER BIRD-STUDY. 



WHEN the " autumnal gale moans sadly" 

 through the groves, stripping the leafy shelter 

 from their homes and scattering the feathered 

 folk abroad, the lover of bird-life must look in- 

 doors, must study the inhabitants of sunny 

 rooms where summer prevails the year around, 

 and only the four walls confine. 



All winter under these favorable conditions 

 I have studied a song thrush or throstle of Eng- 

 land, and although in some respects not so at- 

 tractive in disposition as the American wood 

 thrush, he is still a most interesting bird. It 

 is well known, in this day, that among birds as 

 among people character differs in individuals; 

 I do not claim to have studied the song thrush, 

 but simply one song thrush, a captive in my 

 room. 



The most noticeable characteristic of my bird 

 is his timidity. He is afraid of the dark, or 

 perhaps I should say of the half-dark. When 



