BLACKBIRD. 



39 



which it commences early in the spring-. The voice is infinitely more 

 mellow than the thrush, but has much less variety, compass, or execu- 

 tion ; he commences his song- with the morning lig-ht, and continues it 

 from hour to hour without effort. 



" When snow-drops die, and the green primrose leaves 

 Announce the coming flower, the merle's note, 

 Mellifluous, rich, deep- toned, fills all the vale, 

 And charms the ravished ear. The hawthorn bush 

 New budded, is his perch ; there the grey dawn 

 He hails ; and there, with parting light, concludes 

 His melody. There, when the buds begin 

 More richly full, melodious, he renews." grahame.* 



It is esteemed an excellent cage bird, but not for the aviary, as it pur- 

 sues and harasses the other birds. In a wild state it feeds on snails, (?) 

 earth-worms, (?) spiders, insects, and wild berries; it is also very fond of 

 cherries and pears. It remains with us throughout the year ; in winter 

 it approaches houses and towns, and during severe storms it haunts the 

 garden, coming close to the houses, and even to the windows, picking 

 up crumbs of bread. 



It is an early breeder, and prepares a nest composed externally of 

 green moss, fibrous roots, and other like materials ; the inside is plas- 

 tered with earth and afterwards lined with dry grass ; the nest is usually 

 placed in a thick bush, or against the side of a bank. 



* The materials used by the blackbird for the masonry of its nest being 

 chiefly mud or clay, the workmanship is rude and unfinished, compared 

 with the neat execution of the song thrush, with whose nest it is con- 

 founded by Dr. Fleming and others. I have now before me six speci- 

 mens of the former, in which the outer frame-work differs little from 

 that of the song thrush, except perhaps in being more massive, as is 

 also the clay lining, which is put on in a very wet state, probably to save 

 the saliva of the bird ; but to prevent this moisture from injuring the 

 eggs, it is lined with a thick bedding of dry hay, which in some nests 

 is very neatly worked into the hollow formed by the clay, while in 

 others it is laid less skilfully, and hence the nest is rendered very shal- 

 low. In two of the nests in my possession the masonry of the clay is 

 carried round the branch of the bush where they were built, in order to 

 make it fast, which circumstance, as it is not of usual occurrence, shows 

 that the little architect was guided by intelligence akin to rationality, if 

 not identical with it, and not by what is usually called blind instinct. 1 * 



J 



1 Architecture of Birds, page 131. 



