84 FIELDFARE. 



Mr Thompson mentions having disturbed them 

 from similar places in Ireland, after they had 

 settled for the night 



The great body of the Fieldfares re-migrate* 

 during the month of May ; and immediately on 

 their arrival at the summer's residence, com- 

 mence to prepare themselves for the great 

 purpose of breeding, and it is a remarkable cir- 

 cumstance, for the first intimation of which we 

 are indebted to Mr Hewitson, that contrary to 

 what we know of the habits of the other thrushes, 

 this species breeds in companies or gregariously. 

 Their summer country is the north of Europe, 

 where they seem to frequent the extensive pine 

 forests, and here they have been, by all our writers 

 recorded to breed ; but as we have only had this 

 fact, in modern times, satisfactorily proved by 

 the excursion of Mr Hewitson, we are tempted to 

 extract his description of their breeding place 

 from his beautiful " Oology." f " We had, 

 during a long ramble through those almost im- 

 passable woods, met with many nests of a pre- 

 vious summer, which we supposed must have been 

 once tenanted by the birds of which we were in 

 search ; and after having climbed many a tree to 

 no purpose, were returning homewards disap- 



* Mag. of Zool. and Bot. II. p. 433. 



t British Oology, by William Hewitson, with lithogra- 

 phic figures two vols. are completed See also a paper 



by the same author, detailing the habits and breeding of 

 any of our British birds, from notes during a tour made 

 MI Norway, Mag. of Zool. and Bot. II. p. 309. 



