BRITISH SONG-BIRDS. 59 



THE SOLITARY THRUSH, 



MOOR THRUSH, OR BROWN STARLING. 



TURDUS SOLITARIUS ; LINN^US. LE MERLE SOLI- 

 TAIRE; BUFFON. 



This is a rare bird in Britain, but a delightful 

 songster — ^very superior in ricliness, mellowness, 

 and compass, to any of the thrush genus. The 

 moor- thrush, or moor-starling, — for it is allied to 

 both, and seems to be the connecting link between 

 the stare and the thrush, — is a solitary bird, and 

 never seen in flocks — seldom even in pairs, except 

 during the breeding season. Its haunts are retired, 

 and far from the habitation of man — amongst 

 moors, heaths, and rocky ground, where it breeds, 

 and constructs its nest, which is placed in the 

 cliffs of rocks, or in birch bushes, or other natural 

 wood, on a branch near the root, and often close 

 to the rock. Sometimes, however, they build 



