106 
TURDUS MELODUS. 
snake, snapping his bill; the snake would then dra' 
himself quickly into a coil, ready for a blow ; but O' 
bird would cautiously circumvent him at a little distauC®' 
now and then running up to, and snapping at him; 
keeping at a sufficient distance to avoid a blow. AfO' 
some minutes, it became a running fight, the sn"j'' 
retreating; and, at last, he took shelter in the wall. Tl}* 
cat bird had young ones in the bushes near the fi"* 
of battle. ^ 
“ This may shew the possibility of poisonous snak** 
biting birds ; the operation of the poison causing the** 
to become, as it were, fascinated.” 
91. TURDCS MELODOS, WILSON. T. XUSTELIXVS, GMELIJ'- 
WOOD THRUSH. 
WILSON, PLATE 11. FIG. I. 
This bird measures eight inches in length, andthirte" 
from tip to tip of the expanded wings ; the bill '* 
an inch long, the upper mandible, of a dusky bro"'"' 
bent at the point, and slightly notched ; the loweri * 
flesh colour towards the base ; the legs are long, ^ 
as well as the claws, of a pale flesh colour, or alino*‘ 
transparent. The whole upper parts are of a bro"'" 
fulvous colour, brightening into reddish on the bPr’ 
and inclining to an olive on the rump and tail ; rb'''’ 
white ; throat and breast, white, tinged with a I'f- 
buff colour, and be.autifully marked with jiointed sp®h 
of black or dusky, running iii chains from the sides 
the mouth, and intersecting each other all over 1'* 
breast to the belly, which, with the vent, is of a p"^ 
white; a narrow circle of white surrounds the e' 
which is large, full, the pupil black, and the iris O' 
dark chocolate colour ; the inside of the mouth ' 
yellow. The male and female of this species, as, 
of almost the whole genus of thrushes, dififer so 1'^ 
as scarcely to be distinguished from each other. j 
called by some the wood robin, by others the groR** 
