MISSEL THRUSH. 189 
and as the Missel Thrush is a decided feeder on berries 
generally, it may have acquired the name of Holm Thrush 
from feeding on the Holm-berry. 
This bird is not observed to be partial to low flat 
land, near water, to which the word Holm or Holme is 
also applied. 
The Missel Thrush is one of the earliest of our breeders, 
beginning to build in April, and fixes its nest in the fork 
of a branch of a tree, frequently that of an apple tree in 
an orchard. The nest is composed externally of lichen, 
moss, dry grass, and coarse stems of other plants. This 
outside framework is coated internally with a layer of 
mud, and this again is covered with a lining of fine grasses. 
The nest is sometimes very artfully concealed by assimi- 
lating the colour of the materials to that of the branch on 
which it is placed; but, on the contrary, it is sometimes 
placed in the most conspicuous and exposed situations, so 
that it is scarcely possible to pass the nest without dis- 
covering it. The eggs are four or five in number, of a 
greenish white colour, spotted with red brown ; sometimes 
the ground colour is reddish white, spotted with dark red 
brown ; the length one inch three lines, the breadth eleven 
lines, but occasionally varying in size. The female while 
sitting exhibits much of the boldness of character observed 
at that season in the male, and has been known to fly at 
the face of a man who disturbed her. Two broods are 
produced in the season, and during autumn and winter 
small parties may be seen together, probably composed of 
the parent birds and their young birds of the year. 
The flight of the Missel Thrush is rapid, but irregular 
and uneven, being performed by a succession of jerks. Its 
food is various soft-bodied animals, as worms, slugs, &c.; 
some fruit im the season; and it is also a most decided 
