206 
THRUSHES. 
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 sur- 
prise 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 in man: but a more singular instance, 
considering the nearness of the parties concerned, 
fell under our observation a season or two ago; 
namely, a Blackbird's nest on the ground, in a tuft 
of grass or rushes close to the seat of a rabbit, the 
tail, in fact, of the rabbit, being in contact with 
the nest. As the seat as well as the nest were 
both occupied, these two companions must have sat 
meditating together for many a day, in perfect peace 
and good fellowship. We do not know whether the 
Blackbird ever sings on its nest, which might have 
been a very gratifying attraction to the rabbit ; but 
the Thrush unquestionably sometimes does. Few 
birds, indeed, seem to be more liberal in the use 
of their voice ; we have heard it repeatedly, on 
fine nights, in the latter end of May, singing till 
after dark, and have been roused from our slumbers 
by a repetition of the same well-known song by two 
o'clock in the morning. 
Those who have seen a young Cuckoo fed by its 
unsuspicous step-mother, seated on a bough or a rail, 
