THE FIELDFARE. 231 
against the sky as they quickly pass away. The flight of the Fieldfare is 
not particularly rapid, but is straight forward, and with but little undula- 
tion, and is performed by a series of quick flapping movements. Sonie- 
times the birds will go through a number of graceful evolutions in the air 
before alighting on a favourite pasture. When alarmed, they fly to the 
nearest tree-tops, where they sometimes join in a melodious concert, like 
Redwings, although just as frequently they will fly straight away. But 
the Fieldfare is far the oftenest seen in the branches. Like the Missel- 
Thrush, with whom they often associate, they haunt the berry-bearing 
trees and shrubs; and as soon as the stock of food is exhausted in one 
locality they commence their nomad life again, and are off in search of 
more suitable pastures. At nightfall the Fieldfare is found in the shrub- 
beries and near the evergreen trees and bushes, where it retires to roost. 
Like the Redwing and the Blackbird, the Fieldfare becomes vociferous at 
the approach of dusk, and its peculiar chattering ery and low guttural call- 
notes are heard well into twilight. It has been said that the Fieldfare 
roosts upon the ground; but this is undoubtedly from necessity, not from 
choice ; for the bird, though, like all other Thrushes, for the most part a 
ground feeder, has none of the characteristics of ground-birds, as the 
Larks and Pipits, and where evergreens are at hand it always avails 
itself of their shelter. Instances are alleged of these birds having been 
flushed from the stubbles or the pastures at dusk; but this is the 
Fieldfare’s feeding-hour ; and if shrubberies be near at hand, it is there 
they spend the night. 
The Fieldfare is less exclusively insectivorous than the Redwing. In 
winter these birds are sometimes found upon the stubbles and wilder 
pastures (places the Lark loves to frequent), where they consume the scat- 
tered grain, and pick out the seeds of the various grasses. But they also 
search at times the marshy meadows and pasture-lands for snails, worms, 
and beetles; and if the frost lasts long and vegetable food is hard to find, 
they will haunt the banks of the running streams for the sake of the 
scanty insect-fare they afford. In winter the Fieldfare seems most at 
home amongst the branches of berry-bearing trees and shrubs. He is then 
a thorough berry feeder, and all the winter fruits form his fare. He is 
often seen in the mountain-ash, or in amongst the dense thickets of wild 
rose and bramble, where the “ hips” grow the thickest; but the food he 
loves best appears to be the berries of the hawthorn. It is.a pleasing 
sight to see a flock of Fieldfares, when the ground lies inches deep in 
snow, in the dense branches of these trees, obtaining the berries which 
hang in such tempting clusters from almost every twig. It is difficult to 
say when these trees look best—in the spring, when they look almost 
as white as the driven snow, and their delicate foliage shines like emeralds, 
or in the winter, when their rich red fruit sets off the leafless branches. 
