532 REPTILES AND BIRDS, 



hesitate to rank them far above those of the Nightingale. In addition 

 to this, it possesses the wonderful faculty of imitating the songs of 

 other birds, and even the cries of the mammals which make their 

 abode near it. For this reason the Indians call it the " bird with 

 four hundred tongues." Being protected by the inhabitants of 

 Louisiana, it does not seem to dread the presence of man, and builds 

 its nest with the utmost publicity in the vicinity of dwellings. When 

 it is captured before leaving the nest it becomes very tame. 



The Song Thrush. 



The principal species of the Merulidce, with freckled breasts, are 

 the Song Thrush, the Redwing, the Mistletoe, and the Fieldfare. 



The Song Thrush, Mavis of the Scotch (Turdus musicus, Fig. 242), 

 has enjoyed, from ancient times, great reputation, not, as we might 

 have preferred, for its vocal, powers, but for the delicacy of its flesh. 

 The Romans appreciated these birds to such a degree that they were 

 in the habitof fattening them by thousands in immense aviaries, cleverly 

 combining the privation of light with a suitable temperature. Nowa- 

 days Thrushes are not fattened artificially, because they take very good 

 care to fatten themselves in their autumnal wanderings, for they gorge 

 themselves to such an extent with grapes, figs, and olives, and other 

 fruits peculiar to southern countries, that they attain an incredible 

 state of obesity, causing them to be sought after with avidity, to 



