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of birds followed the Kestrel for a great way, until they were all lost to sight in the distance. 

 In the wood of Cultra I was once (at the end of April) witness to a single Missel-Thrush boldly 

 attacking a Kestrel, which fled before it. The courage of the Thrush was further evinced by its 

 flying to the summit of the highest pine in the plantation, from which commanding site it for a 

 long time proudly looked defiance against all comers ; but by superior numbers Missel-Thrushes 

 are, like their betters, sometimes overpowered. This happened at the Falls on one occasion, 

 when a pair of Grey Crows (Corvus comix) joined, or it may be followed in the wake of, a pair 

 of Magpies in their assault on a nest, and the Thrushes were unfortunately routed. A pair of 

 these birds which bred at the residence of a gentleman of my acquaintance near Belfast, in the 

 summer of 1837, flew angrily towards himself whenever he walked in the direction of their nest. 

 But the Missel-Thrush can exhibit boldness without its nest being attacked. At the end of June 

 1848, a friend brought from Scotland to his residence, near Belfast, four young Peregrine Falcons. 

 The first day that these birds, then full-grown, were placed out of doors upon their blocks con- 

 tiguously, four in a row, they were assailed by a Missel-Thrush, which for several hours continued 

 dashing down at them, and all but, if not actually, striking them occasionally. No reason, such 

 as having a nest in the vicinity &c, could be assigned for the Thrush's inhospitable welcome to 

 the Scotch Falcons." 



To our friend Mr. Harry Blake-Knox we are indebted for the following note : — " The 

 Missel-Thrush in Ireland breeds quite as much away from human habitation as in its proximity. 

 The ivy seeds, and no doubt others, pass uninjured through it, and germinate often where they 

 fall ; in true seed-eating birds this of course could not occur. I am almost positive it is not a 

 migrant to this country ; even in the hardest winter it does not flock, excepting in the case of 

 the parents and young. Snow affects it severely, making it mope, when it falls an easy prey to 

 the young gunner. Its song begins in January, though sometimes I have heard it in December." 



Mr. Sterland gives the following observations on the Missel-Thrush in his ' Birds of Sherwood 

 Forest ' : — " The reputed favourite food of this Thrush, the berries of the misseltoe, is most 

 abundant in the district, growing chiefly on the whitethorn. I have no doubt that the Missel- 

 Thrush assists greatly in the propagation of this curious parasite. I used to think the idea of 

 the seeds germinating after passing through its stomach a mistaken one ; for I conceived that 

 the action of the gizzard and stomach would effectually destroy all their vitality ; but in this I 

 must confess myself mistaken. Its agency as a disseminator of the plant is exercised also in 

 another way. The berries are exceedingly viscid, and the seeds frequently cling tenaciously to 

 to the bill of the bird, who, to rid itself of them, is compelled to rub its bill on the bough of a 

 tree ; and thus the seeds are unwittingly placed in the best position for germination, in the clefts 

 and crevices of the bark." 



The following account of the breeding-habits is taken from Mr. Hewitson's well-known work 

 on British birds' eggs. He writes, " I know of no bird that seems at times to have so little idea 

 of concealing its nest as the Missel-Thrush ; it is sometimes scarcely possible to pass by it without 

 discovery ; it is formed of large quantities of straw, matting stolen from the garden, wool, and 

 grass, which are frequently left dangling clown on all sides, as though the nest had been torn to 

 pieces ; a little moss is sometimes used ; it is then cemented with mud, and afterwards lined with 

 fine dry grass. I have seen a nest of this bird, the foundation of which was mud, strongly 



