NEST AND EGGS OF THE SONG-THRUSH. 



PLATE VI. 



Song-Thrushes generally build their nests in some 

 close thicket, or low bush, near the ground. The out- 

 side is formed of small sticks, withered leaves, grass, and 

 various kinds of moss. Plenty of these materials are 

 huddled together in a loose and negligent manner. 



The inmost coat or lining is made of a mixture of clay 

 and rotten wood, with a few slender blades of withered 

 grass to bind it together. This coat, in the nest before 

 me, is near half an inch thick ; upon this plaster the 

 eggs are laid, no grass or soft covering being put upon 

 it, as in that of the blackbird, misselbird, &c. 



The eggs are of a beautiful pale blue, with a cast 

 of green, and marked with a fev/ distinct purple spots. 



The cock is distinguished from the hen by the gen- 

 eral hue of his colours being brighter and stronger, par- 

 ticularly by the light-coloured line which passes from 

 the bill to the eyes being whiter in the cock, and the 

 dark-coloured line being darker. 



