Yet it is not by any means all the perching birds which have this wonderful gift of song. Even among our own birds, the jay, the crow, the raven, and others, use their musical instrument for talking in a way that is no doubt useful to them, but scarcely pleasant to hear; and in America there is a whole group of songless perching birds--the bright coloured chatterers, the fly-catching tyrant-birds, the American ant-thrushes, which have not even developed a true singing instrument in their throat, and only utter shrill or bell-like cries. Yet they all build nests and cherish their helpless young ones; and so large and varied is the group of perching birds, whether in the Old or New World, that they fill all the stray nooks and corners of bird-life, often imitating the habits of the other smaller groups so as to get at food of all kinds. Thus, while the Finches with their delicate matted nests, the Warblers, and a large number of the smaller birds, lead a true tree and bush life, feeding on fruits and insects, the Thrushes, Blackbirds, Crows, Redbreasts, and Larks are _ground-feeders_, which, though they do not scratch with their feet like the partridges, turn up the ground with their bills and pick out the worms and grubs. For this reason the Song-thrushes love to build their nest of twigs and moss lined with soft wood chips, in some thick hedge near to a meadow or garden, where they can drop down and pull up the unfortunate worms before they have gone home underground after their nightly rambles, or pounce upon unwary snails, and, taking them in their beak, crack the shell upon a stone, and carry off the dainty morsel to their brood; while the Lark, with her long hind toe, so well fitted for walking, hides her nest in a furrow on the ground; and the greedy cunning Magpie, feeding, as she often does, on young animals, seems to fear the same fate for her own brood, and builds a large egg-shaped dome of thorny branches, with the thorns sticking out on all sides, and lined with mud and soft roots, leaving only a small hole for a door. Lastly, the sagacious Rooks, though ground-feeders, build strong homes which last from year to year, in the top of the high elms, and set out in companies in the early morning to their feeding grounds. [Illustration: Fig. 45. Nest of the Common Wren.[106]]