152 BRITISH BIRDS. 



say when one is seventy or eighty yards away ; the 

 female sits on the nest, if she is incubating, until one 

 gets to Avithin a few yards of it, then joins the male 

 and scolds even more incessantly than he does. If the 

 pair have young, both commence to scold at the longer 

 distance. They are not always content with mere 

 vituperation, and the female especially, is apt to discharge 

 the contents of her bowels a^ an intruder, from the 

 distance of two or three feet, with very good aim, should 

 he incautiously turn his back to her. 



The male is a bold bird, and any wandering hawk or 

 crow that approaches the nest, is chased away after the 

 manner of our Mistle-Thrush at home. One wonders 

 if these chases do not sometimes end in tragedy. I 

 well remember some years ago watching on a Swiss pass 

 the approach of a large hawk or harrier, which was 

 leisurely wingmg its way along ; just as it passed me, 

 a bold male Redstart rose from a heap of stones 

 near [by, in which no doubt its mate was incubating, 

 andj^" mobbed " the hawk valiantly. At first the 

 larger bird avoided the attack, but after a few twists, 

 gettmg angry, or perhaps being hungry, it turned upon 

 its pursuer, and it was a case of the hunter hunted. The 

 Redstart, too late, saw its danger, and fled towards 

 mother earth. At the second swoop it was seized, and 

 borne to the ground, and when I got to the spot a few 

 minutes later, only a few feathers remained of a brave 

 but rash father. 



The only case I came across in which an objectionable 

 bird was allowed in a Fieldfare's domain, was one in 

 which a pair were breeding in close proximity to the 

 eyrie of a Rough-legged Buzzard. The bird of prey in 

 this instance was patiently tolerated — no doubt for very 

 good reasons. 



The scolding note of the Fieldfare is strikmgly like 

 that used by the Mistle-Thrush for this purpose, and 

 is occasionally interspersed by the usual winter " chack " 

 note. One chiefly hears the song as the male takes a 



