A dictionary of British birds : reprinted from Montagu's Ornithological dictionary, and incorporating the additional species described by Selby; Yarrell, in all three editions, and in natural-history journals / compiled and edited by Edward Newman.

George Montagu

Date:: 1866

Credit: A dictionary of British birds : reprinted from Montagu's Ornithological dictionary, and incorporating the additional species described by Selby; Yarrell, in all three editions, and in natural-history journals / compiled and edited by Edward Newman. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$Throstle, Cock.—See Thrush, Missel. Throstle, Heath. — Supplement. — See Ouzel, Rin. — Tn the second Supplement to the ‘ General Synopsis ’ the author re- marks that “in ‘ Ray’s Letters,’ p. 1-‘17, a bii'd is mentioned by the name of Heath Throstle, taken from the ‘ Epitome of Hus- bandry,’ the author of which first noticed it. ]\Ir. Ray supposes it to be the Ring Ouzel, as that bird is called bleath Throstle in Craven.” Doctor Latham adds, “ Be this as it may, the late Mr. Leiiin showed me a pair of Thrushes simUar to the Song Thrush in colour, but they were darker, and the tail seemed rather shorter: they were shot near Dartford, in Kent; I re- member to have made some remarks upon these birds at the time, but having mislaid them I cannot venture here to say moi’e on the subject.” At present we have no reason to believe these birds of Mr. Lewin other than the Common Throstle rather darker in plumage than usual, or than he had before noticed; but this is a circum- stance common to all when in full feather newly moulted, and is very conspicuous in the Throstle when compared with speci- mens killed and preserved at a different season. Thrush. — A genus of birds, the charac- ters of which are : Bill nearly strait, but bending a little towards the point, and slightly notched near the end of the upper mandible. Nostrils oval, nolced. Tongue slightly jagged at the end. Mouth fur- nished with a few slender hairs at the corners. Toes, the middle one connected to the outer one as far as the first joint. Thrush, Golden.—See Oriole. [Thrush, Goldvented. — Yarrell, i. 234. Turdus aurigaster, Vieill, N. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. XX. 258. Turdus chrysorrhosus, Les- son, Man. d’Ornith. t. 1, p. 231. Pycnono- tus aurigaster, G. E. Gray, Gen. of Birds, i. 297.—“ The beak black ; the head, neck, back, wings, and tail-feathers uniform um- ber-brown ; the feathers on the forehead and crown slightly elongated, forming a crest when elevated, the plumage of the whole head being a shade darker in colour than that of the body ; throat and neck in front clove-brown, becoming ligliter on the breast, and passing into a dull white on the belly; vent and under tail-coverts brilliant king’s yellow ; logs, toes, and claws black. The whole length of the bird seven and a half inches; the wing, from the anterior joint to the end of the longest quill-feather, three and a half inches; the first quill-feuther very short, about one inch in length ; the second three-quarters of an inch longer than the first, but shorter than the third; the fourth feather the longest in the wing ; the tail very slightly forked.”—Yarrell, i. 230. This is an Afri- can bird, which is unknown as a visitor to Europe. At the meeting of the British Association, held at Cork, in 1843, Mr. W. 'Thompson exhibited a specimen, with the following particulars : — Dr. Burkett pur- chased it from a country lad who brought it into Waterford in .January, 1838, with a number of Blackbirds and Snipes : he took it for a hen Blackbird: he shot it at Mount Beresford, three miles and a half from Waterford.] Thrush, Holm.—See Thrush, Missel. [Thrushlike Warbler. — See Warbler, Thrushlike.] Thrush, Missel.—[Yarrell, i. 197; Hew- itson, xxiii. 79.] Turdus viscivorus, Lin. Syst. i. p. 291, 1; Gmel. Syst. ii. p. 806 ; Raii Syn. p. 04, A. 1; Will. p. 137, t. 36 ; Ind. Orn. i. p. 326, 1; Beioick, Br. Birds, i. p. 100. Turdus major, Bris. ii. p. 200, 1; Ih. 8vo, i. p. 213. La Draine, Buf. iii. p. 295, 1.19, f. 1. Missel Thrush, Br. Zool. i. No. 105; Lb. fol. 90, t. P. f. 1; Arct. Zool. ii. p. 341, B.; Will. Angl. p. 187, t. 36 ; Albin, i. t. 33 ; Lewin, Br. Birds, ii. t. 57 ; Lath. Syn. iii. p. 16, 1; Wale. Syn. ii. t. 197 ; Pult. Cat. Dorset, p. 10. Pro- vincial : Throstle-cock ; Screech or Shiietch Thi'ush; Holm Thrush; Misseltoe Thrush. — This is the largest species of Thrush ; weight near five ounces; length eleven inches. The bill is dusky; the base of the lower mandible yellowish ; irides hazel. The whole upper parts of the bird are of a light brown, a little inclined to rufous on the rump; sides of the head and throat yellowish white, spotted with brown; from thence to the vent white; the breast marked with triangular spots, belly and sides with roundish ones of a dusky co- lour ; the two largest series of wing-coverts are tipped with white; quRls brown, dashed with cinereous on the outer webs ; taU the same ; the three or four outer fea- thers tipped with white, and the inner web of the exterior one almostnvhite ; legs are Af a light colour, inclining to yellow. There is very little difference in the plum- age of the sexes, but the female is not quite so bright in colours. 'The Missel 'Thrush is by no menus plentiful in Eng- land, and seems to bo less so in winter. It begins to sing in January, if the weather is mild, but censes so soon as the thermo- meter sinks below 40 degrees. About the middle of INfarch it makes a nest in the fork of some tree, especially such as are covered with white moss, particularly$