i6 The Fieldfare. 



ground, for, although it frequently associates with tlie latter 1)ird, its grey rump, 

 thrown into strong relief by the dark wings and tail, looks almost white. This 

 species, however, is far less frequently seen upon the earth than our native 

 Thrushes. Its favourite resort is a berry-laden hawthorn, upon which it will eat its 

 fill unless disturbed, when with a clatter of chacks and chicks it shoots off in a 

 straight line towards another of nature's restaurants. 



Among the birches and pines of Nonvay the F'ieldfares breed in colonies, in 

 the former the nests are said to be situated in a cleft between the trunk and a 

 large branch, but further north these birds become less gregarious, and their nests 

 are then situated in low^ bushes, heaps of firewood, on fences and similar places, 

 after the fashion of our Blackbird ; whilst on the bare tundras of Siberia they 

 select a hollow under the grassy edge of a cliflF or bank for a breeding-site, like 

 the Ring-Ouzel. 



The nest is very like that of the Blackbird, externally it is constructed 

 of coarse dry grass, sometimes interwoven with birch twigs and a little moss, 

 plastered inside with mud, and thickly lined with fine grass. The number of 

 eggs varies from three to seven, but usually from four to six ; according to 

 Seebohm, they vary more than those of an}^ of our British Thrushes ; but I 

 think most of those which I have seen could be matched among the almost 

 endless variations of our Blackbirds' eggs ; their ground-colour is either paler 

 or deeper green, blotched, mottled, and speckled with reddish brown, sometimes 

 over the entire surface, but more frequently concentrated at the larger end. 

 The markings of some examples (as with our Blackbird) are indistinct, evenly 

 distributed, in others they are few and rich brown upon a deep blue ground 

 (a variety which I have not seen in eggs of the Blackbird ; though they are 

 sometimes as blue as those of the Song Thrush). 



The food of this species consists in summer of worms, insects, as well as their 

 larvae and pupce and small wild fruits ; in winter, principallj' of berries, especially 

 those of the hawthorn, also insects, snails and worms when procurable, and seeds 

 of grain and grasses. 



The Fieldfare is a poor songster. He rarely sings excepting in the breeding 

 season, and his performance consists of a wild warble, at times interrupted by 

 chattering somewhat similar to that of the Starling. The example which I had 

 for two years never sang at all, but occasionally uttered a harsh guttural sound like 

 that of the Missel Thrush. 



As a cage bird the Fieldfare is most uninteresting, he sotm becomes lame, and 

 if allowed to bathe, keeps his plumage in beautiful condition ; but, excepting for 

 show purposes, is only an expense : like all Thrushes, he is a large eater, and 



