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allen’s naturalist’s library. 
colour at the ends. Young birds after their autumn moult 
may be told by their having somewhat larger buff tips to the 
median wing-coverts. 
Range in Great Britain. — Generally distributed throughout the 
British Islands, and gradually increasing its range northwards 
in Scotland and the islands, in districts where it was at one 
time quite unknown. It is only met with as a straggler in the 
Orkneys, and has not yet been recorded from the Shetlands. 
A considerable migration to our eastern coasts takes place in 
the autumn. 
Range outside the British Islands. — Found almost everywhere 
in Europe, extending in Scandinavia up to the Arctic Circle, 
and in Siberia it reaches Lake Baikal. In Central Asia and 
the Himalayas the Mistle-Thrushes are somewhat larger and 
paler in colour, and have been separated as Turdus hodgsoni, 
but Mr. Seebohm states that examples from Asia Minor are 
intermediate between the western and eastern birds. The 
Mistle-Thrush breeds in the Himalayas at a height of from 
9,000 or xo,ooo feet, descending to the lower valleys in winter, 
at which season of the year the bird visits Southern Persia and 
also migrates to Southern Europe and Northern Africa. 
Habits. — It is not only the larger size of the present species 
which makes it a conspicuous object in this country, but the 
wilder and bolder manners of the bird at once direct atten- 
tion to it. Excepting during the breeding season, the Mistle- 
Thrush is a very shy and wary bird, and is only to be observed 
in open country, never frequenting hedge-rows like the Black 
bird or Song-Thrush. Its favourite haunts are parks, especially 
when there is plenty of pasture-land attached, while in the 
north it affects the pine-woods more particularly. It is a very 
early breeder, often building its nest in February and the 
early part of March, before any leaves are on the trees, but 
owing to its quiet and retiring manners, the nesting does not 
attract much attention. Family parties of Mistle-Thrushes, 
consisting of old and young birds, are often to be seen in the 
pastures during the autumn and winter, but the birds keep 
well out of danger, and fly off on the smallest alarm, their 
white axillaries being very conspicuous as they take wing, one 
after another. Notwithstanding the large size and bold nature 
