Turdid^.. BIRDS. The Missel Thrush. 329’ 
found in small flocks about trees, and in gardens, and 
wooded water- courses, and feeds both upon the ground 
and amongst the branches. According to Mr. Elliott, 
*• its flesh is used by falconers as a restorative to the 
Bhyree [Falcopcregrinus)," and is said to be very delicate. 
THE BROWN LARK [Anthus ludovicianus) is an 
American species of Pipit which migrates southward 
into the United States in the autumn, returning again 
towards the north in April and May. It is six inches 
in length, brownish-olive above, brownish-yellow 
beneath, with black spots on the breast ; the quill 
feathers of the wings are brown, the tertials black, 
and the tail black, with the outside of the external 
feathers white. It breeds in the Pludson’s Bay Terri- 
tory, and on the Labrador coast, and probably in all 
the northern parts of the American continent, making 
its nest on the ground at the foot of the rocks. 
Family II.-TURDID^. 
The birds of this family, which includes the well- 
known Thrushes, and a great number of allied species, 
have a bill of moderate length and thickness, with the 
upper mandible arched and keeled above, and finely 
notched or toothed near the tip on each side. The 
Fig. 
hinder part of the gape is bordered with a row of 
rather short bristles ; and the nostrils, which are of 
considerable size and oblong in form, are placed on the 
sides of the base of the upper mandible, and partly 
covered by a membranous scale. The wings are gene- 
rally well developed, as are also the legs, which have 
the tarsi compressed, and usually clothed in front with 
seven shields, of which, however, some are frequently 
united so as to form a single plate, covering nearly tlie 
whole front of the tarsus. 
These birds are distributed in all parts of the world. 
Their food consists partly of insects, worms, and terres- 
trial mollusca, and partly of fruits. Many of them possess 
great powers of song. 
THE MISSEL THRUSH {Turdm viscivoniH)—^\g. 110 
— which is also a permanent resident in this country, is 
a much larger bird than the preceding, measuring about 
eleven inches in length. The spots on the belly and 
breast of this bird are rounded in form. The Missel 
Thrush is generally met with in small woods, orchards, 
and hedgerows ; its food consists of insects, worms, and 
slugs, and in autumn and winter of fruits and berries. 
Of the latter the berries of the misseltoe are said to 
constitute a favourite portion of its food ; and by its 
devouring these berries, and afterwards passing the 
110 . 
The Missel Thrush (Turdus viscivorus). 
seeds uninjured from its body, it is supposed to con- 
tribute greatly to the diffusion of that singular plant. 
The song of this Thrush is far inferior to that of the 
Song Thrush, and somewhat resembles that of the 
Blackbird ; it is often heard before storms of wind and 
rain, and hence the bird is sometimes called the Storm- 
cock. The nest is built in the forked branch of a tree, 
VoL. I. 42- 
and is composed externally of moss, grass, and lichens, 
and lined with a coating of mud, within which there is 
a layer of fine grass. The eggs are greenish-white, 
with reddish-brown spots ; there are usually four or five 
of them in the nest. 
THE SONG THRUSH {Turdns musicus ). — This well- 
known British bird, whose spotted breast and sweet 
