EEDWING — FIELDFAEE. 49 



THE REDWING. ^ ~ 



Turdns iliacus. 



The Redwing is a regular winter visitor, arriving from the 

 first to the third week in October, and being seen with us 

 until the end of March, and, rarely, until the beginning of 

 April. Irregular in its numbers which visit us each year, the 

 Redwing is always most abundant in autumn and again in 

 spring, a portion at least of those which arrive here passing 

 onwards to winter further south, and revisiting us again on 

 their northern passage in early spring. Occasionally they will 

 all disappear during the heart of winter, as for instance in that 

 of 1878-9, when between the middle of December and the 

 nth February I failed to discover a single bird. But the 

 question of their abimdance or scarcity at midwinter does not 

 appear to depend entirely upon the nature of the season, 

 although in severe weather the Redwing, from its insectivorous 

 habits, is always one of the first birds to succumb when the 

 ground is covered with snow, or bound in the grip of frost. 



Previous to its departm-e in spring the Redwing is some- 

 times heard to sing. The Rev. A. Matthews has related the 

 fact of having himself heard it on several occasions in Oxford- 

 shire [Zoologist, 1864), and published some further remarks on 

 the subject in the volume for 1880 (p. 382). In March, 1887, 

 and again in the same month in 1888, I listened to the song 

 of the Redwing in the vicinity of a spinney of oak-trees in 

 this parish, which is always a favourite haunt of these birds 

 in early sprmg. The song has been well described by Mr. 

 Howard Saunders as consisting of ' several clear flute-like 

 notes, which may be syllabled as trui, tnd, trui, triiritri.' 

 [Manual of British Birds, p. 6.) 



THE FIELDFARE. I 4 



Tardus 2>ilaris, 

 The Fieldfare is a regular winter visitor, arriving sometimes 

 as early as the third week in October, but more commonly a 



