The Song Thrush. 



213 



spatter itself and the cage all over, as many wild birds do 

 when kept in a circumscribed space. If given a dish of water 

 twice a week, in which it can bathe freely, and placed in a 

 room free from smoke and dust, it will keep itself as trim 

 and neat as a well-bred gentleman of the ''masher" type. 



The Mavis is a bird devoid of malice, and is exceedingly 

 tractable, and even affable, if unmolested by other birds of a 

 quarrelsome disposition ; but it will resent unbecoming liberties 

 with its personal convenience. It never tyrannises over its 

 companions in an aviary, as a Blackbird will do, not even 

 over fresh provender, which is usually a bone of contention. 



A fully-grown adult bird weighs about 3oz., and measures 

 from Sin. to 8-Jin. in length ; the tail measures S^in., and 

 the beak, Jin. The upper mandible is bluish black, the 

 under one flesh colour, tipped with black ; the lips show 

 a fine, narrow, yellow line. The iris is usually purplish 

 brown ; some are hazel brown, of a rich hue. The head, 

 back, cheeks, neck, wings and rump, are olive brown, the 

 cheeks and wings being tinged with grey ; the cheeks are 

 mottled with small brown spots ; the head and neck are a 

 little darker brown than the back. The throat is yellowish 

 white ; the breast, upper part of belly and sides, orange 

 buff in old birds, and yellowish white in younger ones ; 

 a dark brown stripe extends down the throat, from each side 

 of the root of the lower mandible. The sides of the neck 

 and breast are marked with triangular brown spots, these being 

 much more profuse in some specimens than others. The 

 lower part of the belly is greyish white, marked with brown 

 elliptic and oblong spots. The first wing coverts are tipped 

 with bright yellowish brown spots, in the centre of the 

 feathers, on tbe outer margins ; on the larger coverts the 

 spots are larger, and more distinct. The pen feathers are 

 bordered with pale chestnut brown on tbe inner plume. 

 The tail is greenish brown, with a greyish shade. The under 

 flue feathers are black. The legs and feet are brownish 

 flesh colour. 



Habits and BREEDiNa. — The Song Thrush is partly indi- 

 genous and partly migratory in its habits ; a goodly number 

 remain with us during the winter. These birds gather in 

 companies in the autumn, about September, or early in 

 October, and migrate from place to place, where the climate 



