is really the case, as each pair will claim suzerain rights over a comparatively large space. The nest is built low down in some bush or hedgerow, on the ground in a bank, in a furze bush or on a heath, and is formed entirely of grass and bents, with a little mud for the foundation, but well lined with finer bents; it is rather larger in diameter, and shallower, than that of the Thrush. The eggs, four to six in number, have a pale blue ground colour, thickly mottled with reddish markings, sometimes uniformly distributed over its surface, at others confined to broader blotches forming a ring round its larger end, or again, in some cases, the markings may be entirely absent. The young, like those of most Thrushes, are fed almost entirely on earthworms, though insects are also swallowed; two or three broods are reared in the season, and as summer advances and fruit ripens, visits are paid to the neighbouring orchards and gardens, the spoils from which form, during the season, a very large proportion of their diet, so there is no doubt that the gardeners’ complaints of them are only too well justified. With the advent of the migration season in September and October large numbers leave our shores, only, we fear, to be caught and eaten by our neighbours across the Channel, where members of the Thrush family are considered great delicacies. Many however remain, spending the winter in thick hedgerows, shrubberies, and woods, or anywhere in fact where there is a bush high enough to shelter them. Furze-covered commons are favourite localities, as are also the open heather-covered tops of low hills. [Illustration: BLACKBIRD _Turdus merula_ Adult male (centre). Adult female (right). Young (left)] Our friends, however, do not all follow the laws of migration; some do not leave the neighbourhood of their home unless driven away by stronger rivals. And so it happens that year by year, as winter relaxes its grasp, we can see our orange-billed friend on his accustomed perch in hedge or bush singing away in full consciousness that his own power has earned him the right to do so, and quite prepared to defend it again and again, till in course of time he is ousted by another minstrel, who reigns in his stead by the law that “might is right.” The Blackbirds found migrating along our shores are either the surplus population, driven farther afield by competition, or wanderers from the colder parts of the Continent of Europe from which it regularly migrates. _The male_ is of a uniform deep glossy black, with bright orange bill. Legs and feet black. Iris hazel. Young males in their first winter have a black bill. Total length 10·1 in.; wing 5 in. _The female_ is of a uniform dull sooty brown above; chin greyish, with dark brown streaks; chest reddish brown, each feather with a darker tip, giving it a mottled appearance. Flanks dark brown, sometimes mottled with lighter. Vent sooty grey.