340 THE SONG-THRUSH. 



The nest of this bird is made very early in the spring, and is always carefully placed 

 in the centre of soms thick bush, a spreading holly-tree being a very favourite locality. 

 It is a laro-e, rough, but carefully constructed habitation, being made externally of grass, 

 stems, and roots, plastered on the interior with a rather thick lining of coarse mud, which 

 when thorouo-hly dried forms a kind of rude earthenware cup. A lining of fine grass is 

 placed within the earthen cup, and upon this lining the five eggs are laid. These eggs 

 are of a light greyish-blue ground colour, splashed, spotted, and freckled over their entire 

 surface with brown of various shades and intensity. The colouring of these eggs is 

 extremely variable, even those of a single nest being very different in their appearance ; 

 and I once took a Blackbird's nest in which the eggs were so curiously marked that no one 

 could have decided whether they belonged to a blackbird or a thrush. Sometimes the 

 spots are almost wholly absent, and at other times the eggs are so covered with reddish- 

 brown markings that the ground colour is hardly discernible. 



The Blackbird is very courageous in defence of its nest, and will attack almost any 

 animal that threatens the security of its home. On one occasion a prowling cat was 

 forced to retreat ignominiously from the united assaults of two Blackbirds near whose 

 domicile she had ventured. 



The colour of the adult male bird is a uniform deep brown-black over the whole of 

 the plumage, with the exception of the under surface of the wings, which have a decided 

 wash of shining grey. The female is darkish brown upon the upper surface, mouse-brown 

 upon the abdomen and sides, arid yellowish brown upon the throat. In total length the 

 bird measures about ten inches. 



The well-known Song-Theush, or Throstle, as it is sometimes called, bears a 

 deservedly high rank among our British birds of song. 



It is plentifully found in most parts of England, and favours us with its vocal efforts 

 throughout a considerable portion of the year. The song of the Thrush is peculiarly rich, 

 mellow, and sustained, and is remarkable for the full purity of its intonation and the 

 variety of its notes. The Thrush begins to sing as soon as incubation commences, and 

 continues its song from the beginning of the spring luitil the middle of autumn. In 

 many cases the bird sings to a very late period of the year, and has been heard in the 

 months of November and December. On account of its beautiful voice, it is in great 

 request among bird-fanciers, and is sold in large numbers as a cage songster. 



The Thrush is tolerably familiar with mankind, and haunts the neighbourhood of 

 human habitations for the sake of the food which it finds in such localities. It is, never- 

 theless, rather shy towards human beings, and does not willingly permit itself to be 

 approached. There are, however, exceptions to this general rule, and on occasions an 

 individual bird will overcome its instinctive dread of the human race, and attach itself to 

 some favoured person. In one such instance with which I am acquainted, the bird took 

 a fancy to a man, persisted in following him about, and used to sit on his shoulder 

 and sing with the greatest enthusiasm. By degrees, the bird became accustomed to other 

 human beings, and would accompany its protector into the outhouses. It had a strange 

 predilection for steam, and was fond of perching on the edge of washing-tubs, and would 

 there sit and sing, though so enveloped in the thick vapour as to be hardly visible. 



The food of the Thrush is mostly of an animal character, and consists largely of 

 w-orms, snails, slugs, and similar creatures. In eating snails it is very dexterous, taking 

 them in its bill, battering them against a stone until the shells are entirely crushed, and 

 then swallowing the inclosed mollusc. Wlien a Thrush has found a stone that suits his 

 purpose peculiarly well, he brings all his snails to the spot, and leaves quite a large heap 

 of empty snail-^shells under the stone. One of the best examples that I have ever seen, 

 was a large squared boulder-stone, forming part of a rustic stile in AViltshire. There was 

 a large pile of shells immediately under the stone, and the ground was strewed for some 

 distance with the crushed fragments that had evidently been trodden upon and carried 

 away by the feet of passengers. 



The Thrush does not, however, confine itself wholly to tins kind of diet, but in the 

 autumn months feeds largely on berries and different fruits, being very fond of cherries, 



