If you wish to hear the thrush at his best, listen to him in the early morning, or about sundown, when he takes his place on the top twig of the tallest tree he can find. He begins with a clear, sweet sound, like a German flute. Next he trills some notes like the tinkle of a chime of silver bells. Then he pours out a full, rich song, and repeats it several times. Soon you will hear some other thrush, from another tall tree, answer him. They seem to try which can sing the best. They keep up the concert until the stars come out, and the fireflies flit among the grasses. The food of the thrush is insects and berries. While he chooses a high place to sing from, he builds low. He finds a laurel or alder bush which is hung with some kind of wild vine, as the Virginia creeper. There he piles up a quantity of withered beech-leaves. On these he makes a nest of grass, plastered with mud. It is lined with fine root-fibres. In this nest are laid four or five light-blue eggs, without spots or marks. Often, if you follow the windings of a shaded brook, you may see the thrush playing along above the waters. When the thrush migrates, he travels by day, and rests at night. When he alights to sleep, he erects his tail-feathers, and ruffles up the feathers on his head. Then he gives a few low calls, hops along the branches, and bends his head down to peep below, and see if all is safe for the night. In fact, from first to last, the song-thrush is a dear and well-behaved little bird. LESSON XXXV. THE OTHER PARTNER. You know I told you that the flowers had gone into business, and taken the birds and insects for their partners. Now these partners are not good friends to each other. In fact, the bird partner is given to eating up the insect partner. We will now look at some birds that prefer insects to any other food. But these, like all birds, will change their diet and eat almost anything if very hungry. Our first bird shall be the “nuthatch.” It has been given this name because people think it can crack nuts. No doubt it can crack beech and hazel nuts, and chestnuts. Its object is not to get the meat of the nut, but the grubs that lie in it. The nuthatch is of a light bluish-gray color, with some white and black in its feathers. It is not much larger than a thrush. Early in April, the nuthatch finds a hole in a tree, or in a fence rail or an old roof. There he makes a nest by piling up dead leaves and any soft wool or hairs he can find. In this nest are laid five white eggs, with brown spots on one end. While the mother bird sits on these eggs, the mate spends all his time near her. If any danger comes, he flies to the nest. He hunts for nice fat grubs and worms, and takes them to the sitting bird to eat.