82 THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



The thrush and the blackbird afford by contrast some in- 

 teresting data. Both are examples of birds which for the most 

 part prefer animal food, such as worms and snails, though ripe 

 fruit possesses for them an irresistible attraction, so that, when 

 fruit is plentiful, large numbers congregate to the feast, and 

 thereby may inflict serious loss on the grower. 



The thrush shows a great fondness for snails, and these are 

 detached from the shells by an ingenious device, the bird carry- 

 ing its victims to some large stone, against which the shell is 

 beaten until reduced to fragments. Around these slaughter- 

 houses of the thrush there may be seen large accumulations 

 of such broken shells. Worms are sought for, and dragged 

 from their burrows with great skill, as anyone may judge who 

 tries to perform a like feat without breaking the worm in two. 

 In accordance, then, with the nature of their food the beaks of 

 these birds have the character of a pair of forceps, contrasting 

 strongly with the crashing jaws of the sparrow. 



In the matter of plumage these two species are interesting, 

 since in the thrush both sexes and the young wear the same 

 livery. In the blackbird, on the other hand, the male is of sable 

 hue with a golden yellow beak, while the female is of a dark 

 brown colour, with a horn-coloured beak. The young resemble 

 the female, but, it should be noted, have the throat more spotted 

 and the back streaked with rufous (see coloured plate). 



Though the thrush and blackbird are resident species, they 

 migrate to a certain extent. Indeed, in some districts these 

 birds are conspicuous by their absence from October to January. 

 But besides these resident birds, large numbers reach our shores 

 from the Continent during the autumn months. On this matter, 

 however, see page 104. 



Both the thrush and the blackbird are great songsters, and 

 here again they differ markedly from the sparrow, which is 

 songless. 



The robin is a favourite with all children. But they, like their 

 elders, are generally not aware that, in this bird, the sexes are 

 externally indistinguishable. What are commonly supposed to 

 be female robins are the young in their first plumage, wherein 

 the breast is buff-coloured and spotted, as also is the back. This 



