THE BLACKBIRD OF EUROPE. 3G5 



bowers of Jog-roses, in woods or in fall evergreens, as thePortug.il laurel or 

 liolly. Externally it is composed of bent twigs, moss, and grass, closely 

 interwoven, being plastered within with a very thin, smooth layer of rotten- 

 wood, cemented by glutinous saliva, and laid as a coating, or line cement, 

 upon a thick layer of cow-dung, scarcely carried so higli as the brim of the 

 nest. This lining is water-proof and tough, and well calculated for protect- 

 ing the eggs or young from the keen winds of early spring. Two broods 

 are produced yearly. AVorms, snails, slugs, insects, and berries constitute 

 the fo(jd of the thrush. The common garden snail [Iluli.c hortensi^) and 

 the wood snail (^Ilclix nciiiorulis) arc greedily devoured, the bird beating 

 the shell against a stone till it is completely broken and the contents are 

 disengaged. 



The Blackbird, one of the most melodious of the singing thrushes of 

 Europe, is a shy bird, frequenting hedge-rows, thickets, shrubberies, and 

 large gardens, and when disturbed or surprised, escapes into the covert of 

 dense- foliage, uttering a loud, sharp cry of alarm. Its song is clear and 

 melodious, but not so varied as that of the song thrush. Like that bird, it 

 feeds upon slugs, shelled snails, and insects, and also tipon currants, cher- 

 ries, peas, &c., more than compensating, however, for its mischief by the 

 destruction of noxious slugs and insects. Early in spring the blackbird 

 begins its nest ; a thii'kset hedge-row, an insulated bush of some dense ever- 

 green, or a bower of ivy, are all favorite places. The outer framework of 

 the nest consists of moss, small sticks, grasses, and fibres, with an inner coat 

 of mud plaster, over which is a lining of fine dry grass. The eggs are 

 four or five in number, of a bluish green, variegated with darker markings. 

 Two and even three broods are hatched and reared during the spring and 

 summer. 



The female of this species is brownish-black above, the breast being pale 

 amber brown, the margin of each feather passing into grayish-white ; bill 

 and legs blackish-brown. The young are similar to the females, and the 

 males do not acquire their glossy black and orange-yellow bill till after the 

 second moult. AVhite and cream-white varieties, and albinos are sometimes 

 met with. 



Instances are on record of the power of this bird to imitate the cry or song 

 of other birds, ilr. Bouchier relates the following in the Magazine of Nat- 

 ural History for September, 18ul : — • 



"Within half a mile of my residence (AA'old IJcctory, near Xorthampton) 

 there is a blackbird, which crows frequently and as accurately as the com- 

 mon cock, and nearly as loud ; as it may, on a still day, be heard at the 

 distance of several hundred yards. AVhcn told of the circumstance, I con- 

 jectured that it might be the work of a cock pheasant, concealed in a neigh- 



