THRUSHES. 
473 
thrush. The adult male is greyish brown above, washed with golden on the 
rump; the sides of the neck are greyish brown, streaked with darker; in the 
tail the greater part of the outermost feathers are greyish white; the throat is 
white, finely spotted with brown ; and the under-surface bufly-white, closely spotted 
with black. 
song Thrush ^ ^ avour ^ e i n man y parts of Europe, the song - thrush (T . 
musicus) is in no degree dependent upon man for its existence, 
being, at least, as much at home among the surf-beaten rocks of the Hebridean 
shores, as in the parks and orchards of the south of England. Breeding early in 
the year, or rather commencing to do so, it rears several broods during the season. 
Most nests are built of stems of grass and fibrous roots, interwoven with mosses, and 
lined with clay; but the prettiest we ever saw was entirely constructed of bright 
green moss. The nest is often placed in a hedge or low shrub, sometimes in a niche 
in an ivied wall, sometimes in a fruit - tree. Such song - thrushes as rear their 
young amidst the treeless straths of the north of Scotland are content to build 
their nests upon the ledge of some convenient boulder of rock, sheltered from the 
weather. The eggs are bright blue, well spotted with dark brown. The song of the 
thrush is generally poured forth from the bough of a tree ; but in Scotland thrushes 
often sing from the roofs of houses, and even from a grassy knoll on the hillside. 
The food of the song-thrush consists principally of earthworms and insects; and 
this bird confers a great benefit upon the gardener by the warfare which it wages 
against snails. Near the sea, also, it feeds in the winter upon whelks and other small 
molluscs, which it obtains upon the rocks of the shore when -the tide has begun to 
ebb. On the other hand, it must be admitted that the song-thrush consumes a 
great deal of ripe fruit. In Norway it is a special favourite, and holds the same 
place in Scandinavian poetry that the nightingale does in the songs of other 
countries. The adult male is dark brown above, tinted with golden brown; the 
throat is buff; the under-parts being golden or bufly white, closely spotted with 
brown. The song-thrushes which breed in the Hebrides are of a greyer color¬ 
ation than more southern specimens. 
The most delightful song to be heard in the solitudes of the 
Redwing ~ ~ 
forest in Northern Europe is that of the redwing ( T . iliacus), which 
generally chants its flute-like melody from the top of a fir-tree. Never nesting 
in colonies the redwing appears to seek the society of the fieldfare, since one is 
sure to find a pair of redwings wherever a colony of the latter species exists. 
Professor Collett says that in the eastern part of Norway the redwing builds 
its nest in bushes and low trees, but in the barren, treeless portions of the west 
coast of Norway, like the song-thrush of the Hebrides, it modifies its habits to 
suit its surroundings ; the nest being often placed upon the ground, between stones, 
on fences, or in stunted birch-trees. Redwings, like other thrushes, show great 
anxiety if their nest be approached, snapping their bills, and uttering a mournful 
cry. The eggs of this species are pale bluish-green, profusely covered with greenish 
brown markings. In the fall of the year, redwings unite in large flocks, and many 
of them cross the North Sea to the British Isles and Germany, migrating chiefly 
at night, when they can often be heard passing over the housetops of our towns, 
calling at frequent intervals to their companions. The redwing is not a very hardy 
