MISSEL THRUSH.— rwrdtts viscivorus. 



In the wood at Cultra I was once, at the end of April, witness to a single Missel 

 Thrush boldly attacking a kestrel, which fled before it. The courage of the thrush was 

 further evinced by its flying to the summit of the highest pine in the plantation, from 

 which commanding site it for a long time proudly looked defiance against all comers. But 

 by superior numbers Missel Thrushes are, like their betters, sometimes overpowered. This 

 happened at the Falls on one occasion, when a pair of grey crows {corvus comix) joined, or 

 it may be followed in the wake of a pair of magpies, in their assault on a nest, and the 

 thrushes were completely routed. 



A pair of these birds, which bred at the residence of a gentleman of my acquaintance 

 near Belfast in the summer of 1837, flew angrily towards himself whenever he walked in 

 the direction of their nest. But the Missel Thrush can exhibit boldness without its nest 

 being attacked. At the end of June, 18-i8, a friend brought from Scotland to his residence 

 near Belfast, four young peregrine falcons. The first day that these birds, then full grown, 

 were placed out of doors upon their blocks, contiguously, four in a row, they were assailed 

 by a Missel Thrush, which, for several hours, continued dashing down at them, and all but, 

 if not actually, striking them occasionally. No reason, such as having a nest in the 

 vicinity, &c., could be assigned for the thrush's inhospitable w^elcome to the Scotch 

 falcons." 



Towards the end of the summer the Missel Thrushes assemble in flocks of consider- 

 able size, and in the autumn often do great harm to gardens and plantations, by devouring 

 the fruit. They are particularly fond of raspberries and cherries, and have been known 

 entirely to ruin the crop of these fruits. They are also fond of the berries of the 

 mountain ash and the arbutus, and are so partial to the viscid berries of the mistletoe 



