MISTLETOE -THRUSH. 47 



THE MISTLETOE-THRUSH. '^^ 



■ Tid-dus viscivonis. 



The Mistletoe-Thrush is a resident, but is more numerous 

 in early autumn, at which season small migratory flocks 

 arrive which are often mistaken for early Fieldfares. A wild 

 and unapproachable bird at most seasons, only tamed in 

 winter by the severest weather, it becomes bold and confiding- 

 in spring, building its nest in gardens and orchard trees close 

 to dwellings. The sweet wild note of the Mistletoe-Thrush, 

 heard on some mild January day succeeding a prolonged frost, 

 has doubtless gladdened the heart of many a dweller in the 

 county. 



The local name for this bird is peculiar, and of considerable 

 interest. It is called the ' Norman Gizer,' sometimes modified 

 into Norman Thrush, and more commonly shortened into 

 Norman or Gizer alone; and in North Oxfordshire I have 

 never heard the name at the head of this article used by 

 countrymen. I hardly think that ' Norman ' has any con- 

 nection with ^northern,' and there seems to be some reason 

 for thinking that the name was conferred on the bird from 

 a common belief that it came here with the Normans, who 

 were very powerful and had several castles in Oxfordshire at 

 an early date. There is good evidence to show that formerly 

 this Thrush was not at all a common or widely-distributed 

 bird in England, and its first appearance in this part of the 

 country may possibly have been coincident with the Norman 

 invasion. The second name, ' Gizer,^ also supports this view. 

 Mr. W. W. Fowler suggests that it may be derived from the 

 French word for the mistletoe, ffiii, which in Norman-French 

 would be (/H/x. The Normans, recognizing it as a bird known 

 to them, might call it the ' Guizer,'' and the English, con- 

 necting it with the arrival of their conquerors, and knowing 

 no name of their own for it, would naturally term it the 

 Norman Gizer or Gizer. 



