140 merulid^e. 



to sit on the eggs until the brood was produced. Two of the 

 young were taken out of the nest when they were ready to be 

 transferred to a cage, but the thrush nevertheless continued to tend 

 the remaining three, until they all took wing. A grey-linnet's 

 nest containing young was put in a cage, into which the 

 parent bird went regularly to feed them. The cage was then 

 moved gradually nearer and nearer to the cottage, until at last 

 brought within doors, whither the parent bird followed and fed 

 the young. 



Sky-larks have frequently been known to follow their nests 

 when shifted by boys from place to place — occasionally several 

 times in a day — across a field, or until the young were put in a 

 cage, and placed beside the cottage. The parent lark then 

 alighted on a little piece of board placed outside the cage as a 

 perch for her, and from it, fed the young regularly through the 

 wires. In such instances, the cottages were in the fields. In other 

 cases, when the young were so far advanced as not to require the 

 warmth derived from the parent sitting on the nest, this was rodded 

 over to prevent their escape when fledged, and the old bird came 

 and fed them. Both these practices respecting sky- larks, and 

 more especially the former one, were common some years ago in 

 the county of Down. 



THE EEDWING. 



Felt. SmaU Pelt. 



Turdus iliacus, Linn. 



Is a regular winter visitant, its migration, like that of 

 the fieldfare, extending over the island. 



In the north, it generally arrives about the middle of October,* 

 sometimes early in the month ; and remains until the beginning 

 or middle of April : to the end of this month its departure was 



* A sporting friend remarks that he never saw redwings so plentiful any where as at 

 Aberarder, Inverness-shire, from the end of the first week, until the 18th of October, 

 1840. 



