THE FLORA OF WEST YORKSHIRE. 
127 
externally of bents and lichens, but although the colour of the latter 
may resemble that of the branch on which the structure is placed— 
bushes being seldom resorted to—there is often no attempt at conceal¬ 
ment. The eggs, 4-5 in number, are greenish to tawny-wliite, blotched 
with reddish-brown and lilac: measurements about T25 in. by ‘85 in. 
In the south two broods are generally produced annually, but in the 
north the fine weather is too short for more than one. From its habit 
of singing early in the year in defiance of rough weather, the Missel- 
Thrush is often called the ‘Storm-cock’; also the ‘Holm-screech,’ 
from its partiality to the berries of the Holm or Holly, and its harsh 
churr -ing note. Its trivial name is probably a contraction of Mistletoe- 
Thrush, owing to a widely-spread belief in its predilection for the 
berries of that parasite ; but in Great Britain its food consists rather 
of berries of the yew, holly, mountain-asli, hawthorn, ivy, &c., fruit 
when obtainable, worms, snails and insects. Although shy of man, 
except when its nest is approached, the Missel-Thrush is bold and 
tyrannical towards other birds, fearlessly attacking Magpies, Jays, and 
other species superior to it in size ; and occasionally it has even been 
known to carry off nestlings. Its flight is rapid but jerky, and on the 
wing its large size and generally grey appearance serve to distinguish 
it from any other Thrushes. 
Adult male: upper parts ash-brown ; under parts buffish-white, 
with bold fan-shaped spots, smaller and more arrow-shaped on the 
throat ; under wing-coverts and axillaries pure white ; bill horn-brown, 
yellowish at the base ; legs pale brown. Length about llin. ; wing 
from the carpal joint 5*75in. The female is slightly paler than the 
male. In the young the arrow-shaped markings on the throat and 
breast are more pronounced ; the upper wing-coverts broadly tipped 
with white, and the under parts, especially the flanks, suffused with 
golden-buff. In this plumage it has been mistaken for the rare White’s 
Thrush, but its tivelve tail-feathers distinguish it.” 
THE FLOEA OF WEST YORKSHIRE.* 
“ The Flora of West Yorkshire” has been long looked for ; 
and the high botanical reputation of its author, together with 
the peculiar features of the district whose flora it records, 
have given rise to expectations of something more than 
ordinary. It is not saying too much to say that in the work 
before us these expectations are fully realised, nor is it flattery 
to say that it is one of the completest and most ably compiled 
of our local floras. Like Purton’s classic “ Midland Flora,” 
it embraces the whole range of systematic botany, from the 
conspicuous phanerogam to the little known and less heeded 
diatom. It has, however, an advantage over “ The Midland 
Flora” in not being an attempt of one mind to grasp and 
work out a number of diverse and difficult branches of 
botanical science, but in each of the special groups, such as 
mosses, lichens, fungi, &c., Dr. Lees has had the able help of 
specialists; hence each branch has been well worked and fully 
* “ The Flora of West Yorkshire,” by F. Arnold Lees, M.R.C.S. Eng. 
8vo. Lovell Reeve and Co., pp. 843. Coloured map of the district. 
