276 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



TiiF. Thrush 



Many remarkable anecdotes are told of the 

 maternal love of the hen bird and her clever- 

 ness in s}'stematicall\' dri\-ing' cats and dogs 

 from the vicinity of her yoimg. Confined in large 

 aviaries, they make life a lourden to other birds. 

 Our Aiiicncaii ivood thrush (^Tiirdns iniistc- 

 liiiHs) is an excellent vocalist, "the 

 tones having a rare c|uality of 

 rolling vibrance," sweet and 

 placid and full like the Jt^ 

 notes of a fiute sounded »#''^' 

 some morning in the /- 

 open countr)' aii'. Next / 

 to the robin this is the /' 



most widely known j 

 of the thrush famil)'. 



If the A iiw ricdii \ 

 robin (Mem /a niii:^i'a- \ 

 toria) is not a domestic \ 

 bird, we have but few, foi 

 he is a part of oui' \'er\' lixx's. 

 His matin song is huniliar from 

 the moment of i"emembrance ; his 

 acquaintance leads him to our \'er) .^^^^, (-.^.j^ 

 doors ; he seeks the a|i])le tree nearest 

 to the country house, where he antl his mate 

 may build their nest, that they may li\'e close 

 to their curious friend — man. His song is 

 sweet and charged with a x'ariety of expression. 



We find a far more tranquil conception 

 of life among the finches, who are all gay, 

 alert, and good whistlers. Their principal 

 food consists of seed, berries, worms, etc. ; 

 in destroying the latter they do good service 

 to farmers. The species named Friiigillae 

 spinus is much in demand for aviaries on 

 account of its graceful attitudes. The color 

 is not striking, but if coupled with the 

 canary, birds of \ery pretty plumage may 

 result. The eggs of this bird when living 

 in a wild state are extremely hard to find. 

 The liniu-t {l-'rint^ina cannabina) is much 

 sought, especially in Germany and Belgium, 

 for the a\'iary. It is another member of the 

 finch family. 



The cardinal grosbeak {Cardinalis cardi- 

 na/is), commonly known as redbird, belongs 

 to the finch family and is a songster as 

 well as a bird of beautiful plumage and interest- 

 ing habits. Great numbers of these birds have 

 been shipped to England, where they have been 

 known as Virginia nightingales. 



Mr. James Lane Allen gives, with rare sym- 

 pathy and delicacy, a most charming descrip- 

 — ^ ^ tion of this bird in his masterpiece, 

 The Kentucky Cardinal. He says : 



Lo ! some morning the leaves are 



on the ground, and the birds 



have vanished. The species 



that remain or that come to 



us tlien wear the hues of the 



season and melt into the tone 



of Nature's background, — 



blues, grays, browns, with 



touches of white on tail and 



breast and wing for coming" 



tlecks of snow. 



Save only him, — proud, soli- 

 tary stranger to our friendly 

 /' land, — the fierv grosbeak. 

 Nature in Kentucky has no winter 

 harmonics for bim. He could find 

 these only among the tufts of the October 

 p sumach, or in the gum tree when it stands a 



pillar of red twiliglit lire in the dark Novem- 

 ber woods, or in tlie far depths ol the crimson sunset 

 skies, where, indeed, he seems to ha\'e been nested, and 

 whence to ha\-e come as a messenger of beauty, bearing 

 on his wings the light of his dixiner home. . . . What 

 wonder if he is so shy, so rare, so secluded, this 



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