The Blackbird. 



197 



called the Black Thrush. It is indigenous to Great Britain. 

 It prefers to inhabit secluded places, and will never leave the 

 neighbourhood of a wood or coppice so long as it can obtain 

 food and water. Even in winter time, when most other 

 species of birds leave their summer haunts, and retire to 

 sheltered retreats, it clings with tenacity to its home and 

 shelter beneath the dense underwood, or in the hollow parts 

 of a tree ; or it perches at the foot of a thick bush of holly, 

 to protect itself from the inclemency of the weather. Some 

 Blackbirds are so devoted to the locality in which they have 

 been nurtured and reared, that they will sooner starve than 

 forsake it. 



Blackbirds commence to breed early. Should severe weather 

 supervene when the female is about to begin the period of 

 domesticity, and she perish in her first effort to become 

 a mother, the male, in most cases, becomes grief-stricken, 

 and his cheerful voice ceases to be heard for several 

 weeks, unless, after a brief period of lamentation, he resolves 

 to seek another partner, when he will resume his usual song. 

 If, however, the male bird die from any cause, the hen is, 

 in most cases, soon paired to some other ardent admirer. 



These birds build their nests in a hedgerow, in a bush on 

 the side of a hill or embankment, or at the foot of a tree 

 surrounded by short undergrowth, but more often in a hedge, 

 rather low down, and generally with very little pretension to 

 disguise. The nest is composed of slender twigs, moss, and 

 root fibres, strongly interwoven, cemented together with mud 

 and clay, sometimes plastered inside with cows' dung, and 

 finally lined with short straws, hair, or wool. The hens lay 

 from four to six eggs — usually five — of a bluish green colour, 

 covered with dusky brown spots and irregular markings. They 

 have from three to four broods in a season, and may be con- 

 sidered prolific birds, as they seldom rear fewer than four, 

 and not infrequently five, young ones in a nest. The cock 

 feeds the hen during incubation, which lasts from thirteen to 

 fifteen days, according to the time of year. 



As soon as the breeding season is over, and the last brood 

 are able to provide for themselves, the males and females 

 usually separate until the next spring. 



Methods of Oaptuee. — The Blackbird is rather difiicult to 

 approach, excepting in stormy weather, and when the fields, 



