AXD NEIGHBOURHOOD, 95 



Mr. Wolley, above quoted, tells us that, in his opinion, 

 the music of the Song-Thrush is infinitely superior. 

 I believe that few birds sing as they should and can 

 sing till their mates are on their nests, so that I fear, 

 in this country, we must continue to take the Red- 

 wing's musical powers on trust. I append dates of 

 first records of appearance of the E-edwing in the 

 neighbourhood of Lilford from my note-books for the 

 following years: — 1880, September 23; 1881, Sep- 

 tember 30; 1882, October 3; 1883, September 26; 

 1884, September 25; 1885, September 25; 1886, 

 September 10; 1887, September 20; 188S, Sep- 

 tember 24; 1890, September 24; 1891, October 7; 

 1892, October 11 ; 1893, September 2. A very beau- 

 tiful, nearly pure white variety of this bird was shot 

 by Mr. Walter Stopford, near Tichmarsh, on December 

 21, 1893. 



32. FIELDFARE. 



Turdas pilaris. 



This bird, commonly known in our neighbourhood 

 as Felt, or Pigeon-Felt, generally appears with us 

 about the last week of October. I find in my journal 

 the following scattered notices of my having observed 

 it in the years mentioned : — 1861, October 26 ; 1872, 

 October 23 ; 1875, October 26. My neighbour Mr. 

 George Hunt informed me that in 1879 he did not 

 observe any Fieldfares in our district till November 1st, 

 and in a letter dated November 28 of the same year 

 he wrote : — *' I have not seen a Fieldfare for three 

 weeks, and have only seen about a score altogether." 

 Many notices of the scarcity, and some of the total 

 absence, of this species in different parts of the king- 

 dom during the winter of 1879-80 appeared in various 



