Birds. 1057 



Europe to our east coasts, usually between the 10th and 20th of No- 

 vember, (see Cat. 253, No. 37). This bird sometimes occurs with a 

 few white feathers among its black plumage, which are then, from the 

 great contrast, most conspicuous. But one would almost consider a 

 perfectly white blackbird as great a rarity as a black swan used to be 

 in "days of yore." Different species of the Merulidae, under the com- 

 mon name of Tordi, form a standing dish in the Italian dinners, and 

 are often served up with millet : " nil melius Turdo? is still a true 

 saying in modern Italy. 



JRiug Ouzel, Turdus torquatus. I have only seen one individual 

 alive in this vicinity, which was October 9, 1831, on a hedge in the 

 barer country to the north-east of Newton Bewley. Having the white 

 crescent very distinct on the breast, 1 concluded that it was an adult 

 male. It was a little larger than the blackbird, and uttered a louder 

 and a hoarser note; and, when standing on a branch of the hedge, it 

 kept moving its tail more frequently. I am informed that one was 

 shot near Thorp, in 1828. Graves has included this species in his 

 c Catalogue of Cleveland Animals.' 



Bohemian Wax-wing, or Waxen Chatterer, Bombycilla garrula. 

 This most elegant bird, called also the silk-tail, is an occasional visi- 

 tor. I have an excellent preserved specimen of an old male, which 

 was shot at Norton above fifty years ago. It has seven red sealing- 

 wax-like processes terminating the quill-feathers on the wings ; and 

 all the colours still remain very bright. One is recorded in Sharp's 

 'History of Hartlepool' (App. 17) to have been found dead on the 

 sand-hills near that town, in 1814. Mr. Selby supposes the species 

 to be indigenous in Central Asia. 



Hedge Sparrow, Accentor ^nodularis. A domestic species, of a 

 plain plumage, but of a sweet and pleasing song. It occupies a some- 

 what important station among birds, as being the principal nurse and 

 attendant on the cuckoo. 



Redbreast, Robin, Erithacus rubecula. The original name of this 

 genus is Erithacws, and is so used by Pliny (Nat. Hist. lib. 10, cap. 44), 

 whilst Mr. Swainson has written it Erithaca. I have restored the for- 

 mer word. 



The robin is a bold and domestic fellow ; he attends without fear, 

 in the spring, upon a person when digging, for the sake of insects 

 which are turned up by the spade. 



Redstart, Phwnicura ruticilla. A pair or two frequent our gardens 

 in the spring, arriving about the 18th of April. The adult male is a 

 very elegant and beautifully marked bird. Its nest is generally diffi- 

 iii 3 t 



