WOOD THRUSH. 9 
The Wood Thrush is particularly adapted to cage-life. During my stay in the 
North I always kept a few of them in captivity, some old birds which had been caught, 
and some taken from the nest. Old birds which have just been captured, are very wild 
for a long time, but after kind treatment they grow tame and affectionate. 
In order really to enjoy this princely songster, it is necessary to give it a roomy 
cage with an arched top, and to feed it carefully and keep it clean. Then the bird will 
reward all care with its exquisite song, which is often kept up uninterrupted from the 
latter part of February to the beginning of July. The bird is best fed with a mixture 
of equal parts of “Mockingbird Food” and grated carrot, to which may be added a 
small quantity of dried ‘ants eggs.’” Meal-worms, now and then different berries and 
a little fruit are absolutely essential to its welfare. It is remarkable that some caged 
males sing very little, others not at all. I believe the cause of this is improper, and 
often very unnatural and careless keeping. In company with other birds, too, it will 
not sing. Many caged males sing only their loud ‘‘E-o-lie.”’ 
In Germany, where bird-fanciers and enthusiastic friends of the beauties of nature 
are very numerous, the Wood Thrush seems to have attracted little attention as yet, 
perhaps because the fullness of its charming song has never yet been heard there. 
Brehm seems to have kept it only in the aviary, and Dr. Karl Russ merely mentions it 
in his “Handbook of Foreign Cage Birds.”” Young birds taken from the nest become 
exceedingly tame and affectionate, but are decidedly inferior in vocal powers to caged 
adult males. 
NAMES: Woop Turusn, Wood Robin, Wood Nightingale, American Song Thrush.—Germ. Walddrossel. 
SCIENTIFIC NAMES: TURDUS MUSTELINUS Ge in (1788), Hylocichla mustelina Baird, Turdus melo- 
dus Wilson (1808). o 
DESCRIPTION: Upper parts tawny, brightest and deepest on the head, more olive on the rump and tail; 
below white, marked with roundish or triangular blackish spots on the breast and sides. Female and 
young similar. Length 7.50 to 8 inches. 
“Nest usually saddled upon a horizontal branch of a small tree, in damp woods, very compact, 
composed partly of mud.” (Ridgway.) Eggs 3—5 plain greenish blue. 
