FERRUGINOUS THRUSH. 
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beset with strong 1 bristles at the base, black above, and 
whitish below, near the base ; legs, remarkably strong, 
and of a dusky clay colour ; iris of the eye, brilliant 
yellow. The female may be distinguished from the 
male by the white on the wing being much narrower, 
and the spots on the breast less. In other respects, 
their plumage is nearly alike. 
Concerning the sagacity and reasoning faculty of 
this bird, my venerable friend Mr Bartram writes me 
as follows : — “ I remember to have reared one of these 
birds from the nest ; which, when full grown, became 
very tame and docile. I frequently let him out of his 
cage to give him a taste of liberty ; after fluttering and 
dusting himself in dry sand and earth, and bathing, 
washing, and dressing himself, he would proceed to 
hunt insects, such as beetles, crickets, and other shelly 
tribes ; but, being very fond of wasps, after catching 
them, and knocking them about to break their wings, he 
would lav them down, then examine if they had a sting, 
and, with his bill, squeeze the abdomen to clear it of 
the reservoir of poison, before he would swallow his 
prey. When in his cage, being very fond of dry crusts 
of bread, if, upon trial, the corners of the crumbs were 
too hard and sharp for his throat, he would throw them 
up, carry, and put them in his water dish to soften ; 
then take them out and swallow them. Many other 
remarkable circumstances might be mentioned that 
would fully demonstrate faculties of mind ; not only 
innate, but acquired ideas, (derived from necessity in a 
state of domestication,) which we call understanding 
and knowledge. We see that this bird could associate 
those ideas, arrange and apply them in a rational 
manner, according to circumstances. For instance, if 
he knew that it was the hard sharp corners of the 
crumb of bread that hurt his gullet, and prevented him 
from swallowing it, and that water would soften, and 
render it easy to be swallowed, this knowledge must 
be acquired by observation and experience ; or some 
other bird taught him. Here the bird perceived, by 
the effect, the cause, and then took the quickest, the 
