Attractive Qualities.—His beautiful voice is in great repute in all the countries he inhabits; it is, indeed, very sweet and flute-like; his song, though musical, is somewhat melancholy, as is usual with solitary birds; many persons, however, are very fond of it. This bird, when tamed, fetches a very high price at Milan, Constantinople, &c. In some countries it is so much respected that it is considered sacrilegious to kill it or destroy its nest.
THE BLUE THRUSH.
Turdus cyaneus, Linnæus; Le Merle bleu, Buffon; Die blau Drossel, Bechstein.
This bird is rather larger than the common blackbird, its length being eight inches, three of which belong to the tail. The beak, fourteen lines in length, is blackish, the iris dark nut brown, the eyelids yellow; the shanks, thirteen lines in height, are blackish; the whole plumage is of an ash blue, but each feather has near its tip a transverse brown line, and the tip itself is whitish. The individual birds vary in the depth of the blue, according to their age and sex.
The female is generally more uniform in colour than the male.
Habitation.—When wild the blue thrush is found in the Archipelago, in Dalmatia, Italy, Spain, and other southern countries, always among steep rocks.
In confinement it is provided with a convenient cage, like the preceding.
Food.—When wild it feeds on all sorts of insects.