AXD NEIGHBOURHOOD. 91 



four-footed enemies. This Thrush nests very earl)^, 

 and rears two broods in a season. In September we 

 meet with them in small flocks frequenting our 

 pasture-lands, and apparently finding their food on 

 the ground. In an ordinary winter they take to the 

 thorn bushes and fences in search of berries ; but 

 very severe weather drives most of them southwards, 

 though they will linger on with us longer than the 

 winter Thrushes, — Fieldfare and Redwing. The 

 Devonshire name for this Thrush is " Holm-screech," 

 in parts of Berkshire it is known as " Yelpingale ; " 

 in Warwickshire I have heard it called "Storm- 

 Throstle ; " and somewhere " White-Felt," i. e. White 

 Fieldfare. Gardeners accuse the Missel-Thrush of 

 being very destructive to various kinds of fruit, but I 

 know of an instance of a pair of these birds nesting 

 in an apple-tree in a fruit-garden and remaining 

 unmolested by the gardener, who condoned their 

 depredations, as he said, because they allowed no 

 Blackbirds, Song-Thrushes, Jays, or Squirrels to 

 intrude upon their domain. I have myself seen one 

 of these birds fly furiously at a Squirrel, and, being 

 joined by his mate, drive the little animal from bush 

 to bush to a considerable distance from their nest. 



30. SONG-THRUSH. 



Turdus musicus. 



The Song-Thrush, or, as it is generally called in 

 this neighbourhood, Mavish (propeily Mavis), is 

 exceedingly common with us, and I fear that I can 

 relate nothing with regard to its habits which is not 

 already well known, except, perhaps, the fact, which 

 does not seem to be very generally recognized, that it 



