48 THE NATURAL HISTORY 
when they do a great deal of damage in the vine¬ 
yard?, by eating the ripe grapes; they difappear 
again at the approach of winter. 
The REDBREASTED THRUSH. 
The upper parts of the body olive brown, the flomachl 
is reddifh, the eyelids are white, and it has a white fpot on | 
each fide between the beak and the eyes : the tail is black, 
edged with olive brown. 
This is a North Americanbird, and retires from 
the warmer into the more northern parts to breed. 
In fome climates Red-breafted Thrufhesbuild their ’ 
nefts, lay, and hatch their eggs, in fourteen days: 
in colder fituations they require twenty-fix days. 
The neft is compofed of roots and mofs, and the 
hen lays five eggs : both male and female fhare 
the care of making the neft, and feeding the 
young; whilft the female is fitting, the male fre¬ 
quently cheers her with his mufical voice. 
Though they migrate to colder climates in the 
fpring, this does not appear to arifefrom theirbeing 
unable to fupport the heat; becaufe there has 
been an inllance of a fingle bird of this fpecies re¬ 
maining all the fummer in Virginia, feeding on 
the berries of a tree, which had been lately in¬ 
troduced into that country, and of which it feemed 
very fond. 
z 
Their 
