OUR THRUSHES. 103 



so, that there is a larger and smaller variety of the 

 same species, in some of the bird tribes. I will 

 state one instance, that of the common wheatear; 

 this is well known to the dwellers in the downs that 

 these birds frequent. In our young days we used 

 to shoot, when we could, two varieties of fieldfares, 

 the fieldfare common, and what we in our juvenile 

 fashion called the pigeon fieldfare, or felt; the 

 larger varieties are the rarest. I know opinions 

 are divided on these points, and the matter has 

 been set aside as doubtful, but the facts remain all 

 the same ; even now we hear of pigeon felts from 

 some of our old rustic friends. One habit the 

 fieldfare has, which is a very strange one for a 

 thrush, he will roost on the ground ; I know this, 

 because I saw a lot once caught in a lark net. 



For the gentle redwing, who in his native wilds 

 is called the Norwegian nightingale, we have a 

 tender regard. He is, we think, more dependent 

 on a supply of insect-food in some shape or other, 

 than any other member of his family; the conse- 

 quence is that in the inclement seasons he suffers 

 severely. I have seen him hunting for a bare sub- 



