CHAPTER III. 



THE SONG THRUSH. 



We have here a charming picture of one of the finest and 

 noblest of our song-birds — the thrush, throstle, or mavis. 

 The trees are yet leafless, but the bird is in the act of building, 

 whilst her mate, on the tree-top, pours forth his exquisite 

 melody. The almost completed nest, like a richly ornamented 

 bowl, is before us. 



This bird belongs to a grandly musical family, being own 

 cousin to the missel-thrush and the blackbird, each one having a 

 kindred song, but all, at the same time, distinctly characteristic. 



The colouring of the thrush is soft and very pleasing ; the 

 upper parts of a yellowish-brown ; the chin, white ; the under 

 part of the body, grayish white ; the throat, breast, and sides 

 of the neck, yellowish, thickly spotted with dark brown. 



The thrush remains with us the whole year, and may occasion- 

 ally be heard singing even in the winter, though April, May, and 

 June are the months when he is in fullest song. They pair in 

 March, and by the end of that month, or early in April, begin 

 to build. They have several broods in the year. The nest, 

 which, as we see, is commodious, is placed at no great height 

 from the ground, in a thick bush or hedge, and sometimes, also, 

 in a rough bank, amongst bushes and undergrowth. They are 

 particularly fond of spruce-fir plantations, building on one of 



