24 The Song Thrush. 



without any symptom of alarm, in the close neighbourhood of 

 man. Of this I will give an instance from Bishop Stanley's 

 "History of Birds " — 



"A short time ago, in Scotland, some carpenters working in 

 a shed adjacent to the house observed a thrush flying in and out, 

 which induced them to direct their attention to the cause, when, 

 to their surprise, they found a nest commenced amongst the 

 teeth of a harrow, which, with other farming tools and imple- 

 ments, was placed upon the joists of the shed, just over their 

 heads. The carpenters had arrived soon after six o'clock, and 

 at seven, when they found the nest, it was in a great state of for- 

 wardness, and had evidently been the morning's work of a pair 

 of these indefatigable birds. Their activity throughout the day 

 was incessant ; and, when the workmen came the next morning, 

 they found the female seated in her half-finished mansion, and, 

 when she flew off for a short time, it was found that she had laid 

 an egg. When all was finished, the he-bird took his share of 

 the labour, and, in thirteen days, the young birds were out of 

 their shells, the refuse of which the old ones carried away from 

 the spot. All this seems to have been carefully observed by the 

 workmen ; and it is much to their credit that they were so quiet 

 and friendly as to win the confidence of the birds." 



The song of the thrush is remarkable for its rich, mellow in- 

 tonation, and for the great variety of its notes. 



Unfortunately for the thrush, its exquisite power as a songster 

 makes it by no means an unusual prisoner. You are often 

 startled by hearing, from the doleful upper window of some 

 dreary court or alley of London, or some other large town, an 

 outpouring of joyous, full-souled melody from an imprisoned 



