Macgillivrayi' s Account. 29 



neither have dug the ground nor sowed the seed, for very dull 

 and joyless indeed would be the garden and the gardener's toil, 

 and the whole country in short, if there were no birds — no 

 blackbirds and thrushes — to gladden our hearts, and make the 

 gardens, as well as the woods and fields, joyous with their 

 melody. Like all good singers, these birds expect, and deserve, 

 good payment. 



The blackbird, though naturally unsocial and keeping much 

 to itself, is very bold in defence of its young, should they be in 

 danger, or attacked by any of the numerous bird-enemies, which 

 abound everywhere, especially to those which are in immediate 

 association with man. The Rev. J. G. Wood tells us, for in- 

 stance, that on one occasion a prowling cat was forced to make 

 an ignominious retreat before the united onset of a pair of 

 blackbirds, on whose young she was about to make an attack. 



Let me now, in conclusion, give a day with a family of black- 

 birds, which I somewhat curtail from Macgillivray. 



" On Saturday morning, June loth, I went into a little hut 

 made of green branches, at half-past two in the morning, to see 

 how the blackbirds spend the day at home. They lived close 

 by, in a hole in an old wall, which one or other of them had oc- 

 cupied for a number of years. 



" At a quarter-past three they began to feed their young, 

 which were four in number. She was the most industrious in 

 doing so ; and when he was not feeding, he was singing most 

 deliciously. Towards seven o'clock the father-bird induced one 

 of the young ones to fly out after him. But this was a little 

 mistake, and, the bird falling, I was obliged to help it into its 

 nest again, which made a little family commotion. They were 



