THRUSHES. ]69 
attracted to tlie surface, to escape the approach of what the 
poor w orm thought might he his underground enemy, the mole. 
But to return to the young Throstles in the shed. In this 
case the food was not worms, hut snails. The old ones 
brought them in their shells, from which they cleared them, 
by breaking the shell with a smart knock on the tooth of the 
harrow, catching the snail, without, in one instance, letting it 
fall. They now and then varied the feast with a few worms, 
and occasionally with butterflies and moths. As is usual with 
almost all birds, the old ones were invariably seen to carry 
away the dung of the young birds, which might otherwise, by 
its accumulation, be a great inconvenience. They would, 
however, be unable to do this, were it not for a curious natural 
precaution, namely, that the dung of young birds is voided 
in a thin tenacious bladder or bag, which can be removed 
without breaking. As the young grew, and required greater 
supplies, the entrance and retreat of the old ones through the 
door was so rapid, that it could scarcely be seen, but was only 
known by the sound, as they darted over the heads of the 
men; another proof of the rapidity of flight, of even the 
slower flying birds, when urged by necessity. 
The above fact of Thrushes feeding on shell-fish, has 
been corroborated by the observations of a naturalist, who, 
on the shores of the Hebrides, on the western coast of 
Scotland, found small heaps of shells belonging to two par- 
ticular species, whelks and periwinkles, always broken, but 
without the animal, although many appeared quite fresh. On 
frightening away a Throstle, which he had seen engaged in 
breaking something which it held in its beak against a stone, 
he found one of the small heaps of whelks, among which was 
a fresh one, newly broken, and containing the animal. As 
the shell of the whelk and periwinkle is much harder than 
that of the common snail, it was a matter of considerable 
surprise how so tender an instrument as the beak of a Thrush 
could accomplish it, but we see in the above case that the 
bird was instinctively taught to avail itself of a power which 
accident placed within its reach. 
Here we have a curious instance of a Thrush’s confidence 
