THE MISSEL VHRUSH, 319 
the Lompass of one single throat the whole feathered race seems to be com- 
prised, for the Mocking Bird can with equal ease imitate, or rather reproduce, 
the sweet and gentle twittering of the blue-bird, the rich full song of the 
thrush, or the harsh ear-piercing scream of the eagle. 
Let it but approach the habitation of man, and it straightway adds a new 
series of sounds to its already vast store, laying up in its most retentive 
memory the various noises that are produced by man and his surroundings, 
and introducing among its other imitations the barking of dogs, the harsh 
“setting” of saws, the whirring buzz of the millstone, the everlasting clack 
of the hoppers, the dull heavy blow of the mallet, and the cracking of 
splitting timbers, the fragments of songs whistled by the labourers, the 
creaking of ungreased wheels, the neighing of horses, the plaintive “ baa” 
of the sheep, and the deep lowing of the oxen, together with aJl the innumer- 
able and accidental sounds which are necessarily produced through human 
means. Unfortunately, the bird is rather apt to spoil his own wonderful song 
by a sudden introduction of one of these inharmonious sounds, so that the 
listener, whose ear is being delighted with a succession of the softest and 
richest toned vocalists, will 
suddenly be electrified with 
the loud shriek of the angry 
hawk or the grating whirr of 
the grindstone. 
The nest of this bird is 
usually placed in some thick 
bush, and is in general very 
carefully concealed. Some- 
times, however, when the 
bird builds in localities 
where it knows that it will 
be protected from human in- 
terference, it is quite indif- 
ferent about the concealment 
of its home, and trusts to its 
own prowess for the defence 
of its mate and young. The 
nest is always placed at a 
short distance from the 
ground, being seldom seen 
at an elevation of more than eight feet. 
The materials of which the nest is composed are generally dried weeds 
and very slender twigs as a foundation ; straw, hay, wool, dried leaves, and 
moss, as the main wall ; and fine vegetable fibres as the lining. The eggs 
are four or five in number, and there are often two broods in the course of 
tb year. The colour of the eggs is greenish blue, spotted with amber- 
rown. 
THE first example of the true Thrushes is the MIssEL THRUSH, one of 
the largest and handsomest of the species. 
It is one of our resident birds, and on account of its great size, its com- 
bative nature, its brightly-feathered breast, its rich voice and gregarious 
habits, is one of the best known of the British birds. About the beginning 
of April the Missel Thrush sets about its nest, and in general builds a large 
weighty edifice, that can be seen through the leafless bushes from a great 
distance. 
The materials of which the nest is composed are the most heterogeneous 
that can be imagined. Every substance that can be woven into a nest is 
MISSEL THRUSH.—(T7urdus viscivorus.) 
