144 MERULlDiE. 



neighbourhood of Belfast.* On the 22nd of February a nest 

 with three eggs was seen ; on the 1st of April, the young made 

 their appearance in a nest at the Falls ; on the 14th of this month 

 a nest containing three young birds some time " out," was dis- 

 covered at Cromac House. Three broods were produced in this 

 nest, the last of which made their appearance on the 3rd of July. 

 The three broods followed imm ediately after each other, and were 

 all seen by Mr. J. E. Garrett, to whom the nest itself from first 

 to last, did not seem in the least degree altered.f The nest is 

 generally placed in low situations,! as in small shrubs, white- 

 thorn hedges, among ivy on the stem of a tree or on a wall, &c : 

 — the obvious difference between it and that of the thrush, 

 as remarked by my friend at the Falls, is, the latter being lined 

 with clay or cow-dung only, the former with grasses, &c, although 

 either of the two substances just named is also used in its construc- 

 tion. Mr. Macgillivray describes the blackbird's nest very particu- 

 larly (B. B. vol. ii. p. 90). This species, like the missel thrush, has 

 the good taste, when an opportunity presents itself, of lining its 

 nest with lace. A valuable piece of this material, which had been 

 laid out to bleach in a garden at Lame, belonging to a lady of my 

 acquaintance, was carried off, and the servant was blamed for the 

 theft ; but when winter came, the missing article was found lining 

 a blackbird's nest. A correspondent mentions a nest of this 

 species having for its foundation the nest of a ring-dove of the 

 preceding year. 



In the north of Ireland, blackbirds are very destructive to 

 fruits of almost every kind ; in many gardens around Belfast, 



* A brief " Comparison of the Periods of Flowering of certain Plants in the early 

 spring of 1846, in the Botanic Garden of Belfast, and the Jardin des Plantes at 

 Paris," drawn up by the author, will be found in the 19th volume of the Annals of 

 Natural History, p. 223-226. 



f My informant surmised that the-first and second broods had, on leaving the nest, 

 fallen victims to cats, which were in the habit of visiting the locality. 



\ Professor Wilson is aware of this, and treating of the bird in his own eloquent 

 manner, places the nest at the foot of a silver fir, from the top of which the male 

 pours forth his song. — Reckeat : Chr. North, vol. iii. p. 14. 



