, ISLACKIilRU. 
„„ve ,.oo„ instantaneous. T„e fenaalc. hon-eve. was not inconsolable, and w^hin a day oj two 
sli,btest intennaission to bee tber™ onrocision the newi; 
and three broods were now successfully reared. It is, howevei, a ta i r u I'l 
acquired husband bad by some strange fatality taken np bis position to sing on the adent.cal limb on w nc i 
tlm late lamented had been accustomed to warble to bis mistress, ber teelmgs appeared to be mouse n 
quitting her nest she administered not only an exceedingly noisy lecture, but a well-intentioned thiashmg 
into the bargain. The cause of this strange proceeding 1 am unable to account for; I merely relate what 
It is, at times, exceedingly amusing to Avatcli closely the actions of a party of Blackbirds, gaming thereby 
a slight insight into their manners and customs. A group consisting of an adult male and female together 
with a couple of immature females attracted my attention while disporting themselves on a lawn on ISovember 
11th, 1883. A young male was also present ; he kept, however, somewhat in the background, his demeanour 
while in the company of the elders being decidedly retiring, dlie old gentleman was apparently desirous of 
jiaying his respects to one of the juvenile females; wdth upraised tail and drooping A\ings, bis feathers also 
at times puffed out to the fullest extent, he hopped constantly in attendance-^halting for a few seeonds 
occasionally, stretching forward his head and jerking his tail in the most absurd manner, evidently endeavouring 
to show^ himself off to the greatest advantage. The old female, wdiile this performance was taking place, 
flew hither and thither, exhibiting plainly the utmost annoyance. At last ber anger could no longer be 
restrained : dashing suddenly at the offender she struck him instantly to the ground. Lying flat and 
helpless on his back with outspread wdngs, she perched on liis breast and vented her rage by pecking in the 
most savage manner at his head for ten or fifteen seconds ; she then relinquished her position, when, wdthout 
the slightest signs of resentment, he sneaked quietly off to some place of security beneath the evergreens *. 
After the same manner as Thrushes, I have repeatedly noticed young Blackbirds supplying food to 
birds of their owm species, evidently only just out of the nest. Whether youngsters exhibiting such care 
are brothers or sisters belonging to an earlier brood, or simply neighbours, it is impossible to say. At 
times, however, these precocious nurses are apt to play tricks Avitli the juveniles they profess to take 
charge of. On the 10th of August, 1882, two helpless mites had managed to hop from beneath the shrubs 
to the edge of the lawn unattended by either of their parents. A lively young female, who was actively 
searching for food on the grass, at once approached and picking up in her bill a dried leaf of that hardy 
evergreen the broad-leafed Euonymus, popped it into the widely opened mouth of the nearest fledgeling. 
ith a shake of the head the unpalatable morsel was immediately rejected, when it wms seized again and 
thrust down the throat of the second innocent, who likewi.se refused to swallow it. This performance was 
repeated five or six times with similar results, till the arrival of an old bird on the scene broke up the party. 
In their earliest stages, as soon as the feathers have opened, the males arc distinguishable from the 
I 7,r‘' feathers of the wings do not moult the first autumn, and this 
Lales Vrrfe r'‘°°r T, 1 ''‘ll examination considerably darker than that of the 
On wo «Tent ree ‘ T*" “““ “ <>^ttskirts'’of Brighton 
fiiei! rarity that had invaded 
fernery in our own garden; here he caused’ such eTten^Tlnd utdrsn““t 
^ ‘ c spread destruction, by dragging down 
strongly marked. T, bj”'l’’"d w" tTaX T " “‘1 hha* W"? 
incredible, I may , tale that the whole affair waa also witnessed by aTell\rTO''°”’'”tl,"'l'' 
the date above mentioned. ^ ornithologist. It occurred on our own lawn near llriiditon, on 
