154 FERRUGINOUS THRUSH. 
they were in full song round the commons at Savannah, as if straining * 
to oitstrip the Mocking Bird, that prince of feathered musicians. 
Tae Thrasher isa welcome visitant in spring, to every lover of ru- 
yal scenery and rural song. In the months of April and May, when 
our woods, hedge-rows, orchards, and cherry-trees, are one profusion 
of blossoms, when every object around conveys the sweet sene*tions 
of joy, and Heaven’s abundance is, as it were, showering aroun. us, 
the grateful heart beats in unison with the varying, elevated strains of 
this excellent bird; we listen to its notes with a kind of devotional 
ecstasy, as a morning hymn to the great and most adorable Creator of 
all. The human being who, amidst such scenes, and in such seasons 
of rural serenity and delight, can pass them with cold indifference, 
and even contempt, I-sincerely pity; for abject must that heart be, 
and callous those feelings, and depraved that taste, which neither the 
charms of nature, nor the melody of innocence, nor the voice of grat- 
itude or devotion, can reach, ‘ 
This bird inhabits North America, from Canada tothe point of Flor- 
ida. They are easily reared, and become very familiar when kept in 
cages; and though this is rarely done, yet I have known a few in- 
stances where they sang in confinement with as much energy as in 
their native woods. They ought frequently to have earth and gravel 
thrown in to them, and have plenty of water to bathe in. 
The Ferruginous Thrush is eleven inches and a half long, and thir- 
teen in extent; the whole upper parts are of a bright reddish brown; 
wings, crossed with two bars of white, relieved with black; tips and 
inner vanes of the wings, dusky; tail, very long, rounded at the end, 
broad, and of the same reddish brown as the back; whole lower parts, 
yellowish white; the breast, and sides under the wings, beautifully 
marked with long, pointed spots of black, running in chains; chin, 
white ; bill, very long and stout, not notched, the upper mandible over- 
hanging the lower a little, and beset with strong bristles at the base, . 
black above, and whitish below, near the base; legs, remarkably strong, 
and of a dusky clay color; iris of the eye, brilliant yellow. The fe- 
male may he distinguished from the male by the white on the wing 
being much narrower, and the spots on the breast less. In other 
respects, their plumage is nearly alike. 
Concerning the sagacity and reasoning faculty of this bird, my ven- 
erable friend Mr. Bartram writes me as follows:—-“JI remember to 
have reared one of these birds from the nest, which, when full grown, 
became very tame and docile. I frequently let him out of his cage to 
give him a taste of liberty. After fluttering and dusting himself in dry 
sand and earth, and bathing, washing, and dressing himself, he would 
proceed to hunt insects, such as beetles, crickets, and other shelly 
tribes; but, being very fond of wasps, after catching them, and knock- 
ing them about to break their wings, he would lay them down, then 
examine if they had a sting, and, with his bill, squeeze the abdomen 
to clear it of the reservoir of poison before he would swallow his 
prey. When in his cage, being very fond cf dry crusts of bread, if, 
upon trial, the corners of the crumbs were too hard and sharp for his 
throat, he would throw them up, carry, and put them in his water dish 
-to soften; then take them out and swallow them. Many other re- 
markable circumstances might be me utioned that would fully demon- 
