272 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
towns, to hunt for berries. Thus we have seen them in hard 
weather frequenting the gardens of the Natural History 
Museum at South Kensington along with Redwings and 
Mistle-Thrushes. . 
The note of the Fieldfare is a harsh cry of tsak, generally 
uttered from the top of a tree, where the bird keeps a good 
look-out for danger, and they have also a chattering note which 
is often uttered by the birds as they fly high overhead, and is 
quite unlike the note of any of the other British Thrushes. 
In its northern home the bird nests in colonies in the birch- 
trees and several nests will be found on the same tree. Farther 
north Mr. Seebohm says it loses its gregarious habits, and on 
the barren tundra the nest is placed on the ground like that of 
the Ring-Ouzel, the bird choosing a niche under the turf on the 
edge of a cliff. 
Nest.— Built in the branches of a birch-pine, or an alder-tree, 
sometimes in out-houses, or in a low bush. Mr. Seebohm says 
that it is very similar in construction to that o i the Blackbird 
or Ring-Ouzel, the outside being made of coarse dry grass, with 
sometimes a few birch-twigs or a little moss interwoven, then 
plastered with mud, and finally lined with a thick bed of fine 
grass. 
Eggs From four to six in number. The colour varies im- 
mensely scarcely two clutches being alike. The ground-colour 
is bluish green, and the markings and spots are rufous or 
chestnut-brown, sometimes so thickly distributed as to hide the 
^round-colour of the egg, at other times consisting of large red 
blotches, distributed widely, or congregating round the larger 
end. Sometimes nearly unspotted eggs are found. The under- 
lying markings are light reddish-brown, scarcely to be distin- 
guished. Axis, ri-i'25 inch; diam, o'8-o'8. 
THE AMERICAN THRUSH. TURDUS MIGRATORIUS. 
Turdus migratorius, Linn., Syst. Nat., i., p. 292 (1766) , Seeb., 
Cat. B. Brit. Mus., v., p. 220 (1881); Ridgw. Man. N. 
Amer. B., p. 577 (1887); Saunders, Man., p. 10, note 
(1889). 
Adult Male. — General colour above ashy-grey, the lesser wing- 
coverts like the back; lesser and median coverts dusky, 
