They remain motionless for a few seconds after alighting, with legs at a graceful angle, neck arched,
head turned slightly aside, as if they were listening intently, and tail almost at right angles to the
body; for these birds, like Ring-Ouzels and Magpies, always elevate their tails upon alighting.
They crouch low amongst the herbage, thus presenting an appearance the very model of easy though
wary gracefulness and beauty. Few birds are more shy while feeding than the Blackbird; and the
instant he is alarmed, he either crouches lower to the ground or retires into the fastnesses whence he
came. The Blackbird most frequents the pastures in the morning and evening when the small
white snails occur in largest numbers, and the earthwprms come nearer to the surface of the ground
or crawl out completely. An animating and interesting sight, indeed, it is to watch him seek his
meal. As soon as he alights he pauses a moment, then hops quickly forward and begins to dig for
a worm, or snatches a snail from the grass-stem. Then another pause with his head erect, then a
few more rapid hops forward, and again he renews the digging motions, drawing the worms from
their hiding-places, and, if they be too large to swallow whole, breaking them in pieces. Now he
is tugging away at some tenacious worm, now exploring the heaps of manure in search of insects,
every now and then pausing in his labours to look warily around. In this manner the birds will
advance a hundred yards or more from their cover; but should any one of them utter its alarm-notes,
the whole party seek shelter, leaving the pasture in a straggling train, the boldest birds sometimes
tarrying until you approach them within gunshot. But all the Blackbird’s food is not obtained from
the pastures. Lurking amongst the hedgerows are numerous snails inhabiting prettily-marked shells;
these the Blackbird breaks by dashing them against a stone or_ even the hard ground. Insects and
grubs are also eaten, and in autumn the berries of the mountain-ash, wild rose, and elder, and
also wild fruits, as raspberry, blackberry, and sloe. The Blackbird is also, to some - extent* a
graminivorous bird, and will feed on grain and various seeds. The bird’s love for fruit also makes
him but a poor favourite with the gardener, who is ever on the alert to kill him for the cherries,
currants, gooseberries, and peas that he pilfers in the season. But the bird’s thefts in fruit-time
are amply repaid by the amount of undoubted good he does at other times of the year in ridding
the garden and the orchard of many of their unwelcome pests. A little watching in the fruit-
season is all that is necessary. His good deeds amply repay his little pilferings; and his sprightly
form and tuneful song should be far more highly valued than a handful of fruit.
“ In autumn the Blackbird is often found in the turnip-fields, seeking the snails and worms
which abound so plentifully in the damp loose soil under the broad leaves. In such numbers do
the birds congregate that it is no uncommon thing to flush a dozen of them on an acre of turnips.
Here they are flushed with difficulty, as they always prefer to run under the leaves rather than to take
wing, unless absolutely compelled to do so. In winter the Blackbird’s table is the hawthorn, whose
berries form its favourite food. At this season of the year it also eats the berries of the misseltoe
and the ivy; yet always, when the frost is absent, it frequents the grass-lands, manure-heaps, and
little water-courses in search of the various insects on or near them.
“ The song of the Blackbird is first heard in the latter part of February, and continues with
undiminished power until the end of May, but his notes are on the wane throughout June ; and
in July his mellow pipe is hushed during the autumnal moult until the advent of the following
spring. Though rich and full in tone it possesses little variety; but still the Blackbird s melody is
one of the finest of all known birds’ ; for what it lacks in variation it makes up in compass and
richness of tone. Early morning, about sunrise, and after five o’clock in the evening, in the latter
part of April, are perhaps the times when the Blackbird’s powers of song are heard to best advantage.
On the topmost twig of some lofty oak tree, or hid away amongst the foliage of the lower branches,
he will sit in the dusk of early morning and warble his wild flute-like song, which floats gently on
the still cool air, as he greets the now glowing eastern sky, and later the rising sun. Then again in
the evening he sings as loud and full as in the morning; and you may note that his melody is
particularly charming during a passing shower or thunder-storm, even in the middle of the day.
Although the Blackbird warbles his delightful strains at all hours of the day, still it is in the
morning and evening that the lover of nature can pause and listen to the bird’s wild strains in
fullest enjoyment; ’ for he seems to strive his best to herald the approaching day and sing its
requiem in his choicest tones. The Blackbird’s alarm-notes have been previously noticed, and
resemble most closely those of the Ring-Ouzel. The call-note of the male bird in the breeding-
season resembles the call-note of the Robin—a kind of wild piping cry, indescribably plaintive and
beautiful. The female bird is not nearly so noisy as her mate. She is perhaps still more skulking
in her habits, and in the breeding-season especially is rarely heard to utter a sound.
“ Blackbirds are extremely pugnacious creatures during the mating-season. A little before the
period of the vernal equinox it is no uncommon thing to see the male Blackbirds fighting with perfect
fury, and chasing each other rapidly through the branches until one comes off victorious and the
other slinks silently away. Most birds in the mating-season are more or less pugnacious, although
peaceable enough at other times; but the Blackbird may be often seen displaying animosity towards
its own species at all seasons of the year.- The Blackbird pairs early in the season; but its nest is
not found so early as that of the Song-Thrush or the Storm-cock.
“ Its chief breeding-haunts are the woods, the shrubberies, pleasure-grounds, gardens, and
hedgerows of the highly cultivated districts. The site for the nest is a varied one, embracing at
times very singular situations. Preference, however, is given to evergreens. Its nest is placed far
up the ivy-covered branches of the tallest trees, or amongst the ground-ivy, in the gloomy yew-trees,
snugly buried under the broad-leaved laurels, hid from view in the holly’s impenetrable and glossy
foliage, and, more rarely, in the dark and frowning branches of the cedars and the pines. A
favourite situation for a Blackbird’s nest is amongst the ivy growing on walls, especially where a
few stray brambles hang over to support it, the materials of the nest being artfully interwoven with
them. I t is also found pretty frequently on the ground in the banks of wooded ravines, amongst
fern and hyacinths, and also in hedges. In all these varied situations, however, the materials of
the nest are the same; and often little or no attempt is made to conceal it. Curious sites, indeed,
are,sometimes chosen. The Blackbird has been known to make its nest on a stone projecting from
a wall, with no other support whatever; in another instance, under the eaves of a shed; whilst a
third was placed amongst the roots of a large tree, far under a bank, in just such a situation as a
Wren would select for a nesting-site. The nest passes through three stages before it is completed.
It is composed, first, of coarse grasses, amongst which a few twigs are sometimes woven, a little
moss, and.dry leaves. This somewhat loosely built structure is lined with mud or clay, when it is'
a difficult matter to distinguish it from an unfinished nest of the Song-Thrush. This mud-formed
cavity is finally lined very thickly with finer grasses, admirably arranged, and forming a smooth
bed for the eggs. When completed and dry, the nest of the Blackbird is very firm and compact—a
proof of which may be seen in the number of their nests which remain intact through the storms
of winter, forming refuges and larders for the field-mice. In form the Blackbird’s nest is somewhat
shallow, and is usually a large, bulky structure. The eggs of the Blackbird are from four to six in
number, although this is in some few cases exceeded, for nests have been known to contain eight
eggs* They differ considerably in size, form, and colour: some specimens are exceptionally large,
others small; some are quite pear-shaped, others almost round. The usual colour is a bright
bluish green, spotted, streaked, clouded, and blotched with rich reddish brown and various tints of
purple. Some specimens have most of the spots and streaks round the large end of the egg ip a
zone or band; others are finely blotched; whilst some specimens are so highly marked as to hide
all trace of the ground-colour. Varieties of the Blackbird’s eggs are occasionally met with very