THE THRUSH 199 



his character, for "winter and rough weather" have no 

 terrors for him, unless they cut oif his food supply/ A 

 high wind, especially if rain comes with it, seems to rouse 

 in him a kind of noisy joy, as with the Vikings of old. He 

 flies to the topmost bough of some tall tree, and pours out 

 his loud, ringing, boisterous song. 



The country-folk used to call him the Storm Cock, a 

 prouder and more sensible name than the one by Avhich he 

 is usually known. 



He is a shy bird, and loves the open country better than 

 the hedgerow lanes. But in defence of his nest he and his 

 mate will attack even a hawk. There is a Welsh name for 

 him which means "the master of the copj)ice," and the 

 pugnacious way in which a pair of Mistle Thrushes will 

 " clear out " all other birds from the neighbourhood of 

 their nest explains why the title fits. 



The nest is usually a rather unfinished-looking piece 

 of work. Moss and grasses and lichens, with a few coarse 

 plant stems, well stiffened with clay, are the favourite 

 materials, but queer things are said to get woven into the 

 structure occasionally. There is an old story of a lady in 

 Ireland who lost her lace cap, one spring day. It had been 

 laid out on the grass to dry, and it mysteriously dis- 

 appeared. All search was vain. In the autumn, when the 

 woods were growing bare, the remains of the lace cap were 

 found forming part of the nest of a Mistle Thrush. The 

 nest was empty ; the birds had flown ; but the lace had 

 helped to bind the walls of their nursery together. 



1 The Mistle Thrush is said to breed even in the cold mountain solitudes of the 

 Himalayas at the height of between 9000 and 10,000 feet, though in winter he 

 comes down to the lower valleys. 



