112 TURDUS PILARIS, 



found in a very limited distance) are placed in the spruce fir, 

 at distances from the ground varying from four to forty feet, 

 or upwards. They as well as the eggs very much resemble 

 those of the Blackbird ; the latter were often five, and not un- 

 frequently six in number. Their hurried flight from tree to 

 tree, and their loud harsh cries, very soon point out their 

 locality, Mr Swainson, in an article on the nests of birds in 

 Lardner's Cyclopsedia, in order to support a rule laid down by 

 him, that all insectivorous birds are solitary builders, states 

 that the Fieldfares are never known to breed together. In 

 this statement, as I have shewn above, he is quite mistaken. 

 How does he reconcile the habits of the House and Sand 

 Martins to this rule 1 They (especially the latter) are not 

 solitary builders." 



Young in Second Plumage, — There is very little difference 

 between the young birds after autumn and their parents, the 

 yellowish-red of the fore-neck and breast being brighter, the 

 grey of the head and rump less pure, and the chestnut of the 

 back not so deep ; but the characteristic mark is found in the 

 feathers of the sides, which, in place of being brownish-black 

 with white margins, are light coloured, with a pale-brown or 

 dusky border within the white margin. The lower wing- 

 coverts also, in place of being pure white, are frequently marked 

 with dusky, and the dark streak along the centre of the feathers 

 on the head is much larger than in the adult birds. 



Remarks. — Among the affinities of the genus to other 

 birds, it may perhaps seem surprising that I should indicate a 

 strong resemblance between the Fieldfare and the Sky Lark, 

 Let a person place the two birds beside each other, and he will 

 perceive that the general form is pretty similar, the proportions 

 nearly the same, the bills so like, that, leaving out the notch, 

 the same description would answer for both. The tarsi and 

 toes are nearly alike, although the claws differ greatly, and the 

 marks on the fore-neck and breast are not dissimilar. There 

 are differences to be sure, but there are certainly affinities. 



In size and form, as well as in all the details as to the pro- 



