THE FIELDFARE. 231 



against the sky as they quickly pass away. The flight of the Fieldfare is 

 not particularly rapid, but is straight forward, and with but little undula- 

 tion, and is performed by a series of quick flapping movements. Some- 

 times the birds will go through a number of graceful evolutions in the air 

 before alighting on a favourite pasture. When alarmed, they Qy to the 

 nearest tree-tops, where they sometimes join in a melodious concert, like 

 Redwings, although just as frequently they will fly straight away. But 

 the Fieldfare is far the oftenest seen in the branches. Like the Missel- 

 Thrush, with whom they often associate, they haunt the berry-bearing 

 trees and shrubs ; and as soon as the stock of food is exhausted in one 

 locality they commence their nomad life again, and are off in search of 

 more suitable pastures. At nightfall the Fieldfare is found in the shrub- 

 beries and near the evergreen trees and bushes, where it retires to roost. 

 Like the Redwing and the Blackbird, the Fieldfare becomes vociferous at 

 the approach of dusk, and its peculiar chattering cry and low guttural call- 

 notes are heard well into twilight. It has been said that the Fieldfare 

 roosts upon the ground ; but this is undoubtedly from necessity, not from 

 choice ; for the bird, though, like all other Thrushes, for the most part a 

 ground feeder, has none of the characteristics of ground-birds, as the 

 Larks and Pipits, and where evergreens are at hand it always avails 

 itself of their shelter. Instances are alleged of these birds having been 

 flushed from the stubbles or the pastures at dusk; but this is the 

 Fieldfare's feeding-hour ; and if shrubberies be near at hand, it is there 

 they spend the night. 



The Fieldfare is less exclusively insectivorous than the Redwing. In 

 winter these birds are sometimes found upon the stubbles and wilder 

 pastures (places the Lark loves to frequent), where they consume the scat- 

 tered grain, and pick out the seeds of the various grasses. But they also 

 search at times the marshy meadows and pasture-lands for snails, worms, 

 and beetles; and if the frost lasts long and vegetable food is hard to. find, 

 they will haunt the banks of the running streams for the sake of the 

 scanty insect-fare they afford. In winter the Fieldfare seems most at 

 home amongst the branches of berry-bearing trees and shrubs. He is then 

 a thorough berry feeder, and all the winter fruits form his fare. He is 

 often seen in the mountain-ash, or in amongst the dense thickets of wild 

 rose and bramble, where the " hips " grow the thickest ; but the food he 

 loves best appears to be the berries of the hawthorn. It is a pleasing 

 sight to see a flock of Fieldfares, when the ground lies inches deep in 

 snow, in the dense branches of these trees, obtaining the berries which 

 hang in such tempting clusters from almost every twig. It is difficult to 

 say when tnese trees look best in the spring, when they look almost 

 as white as the driven snow, and their delicate foliage shines like emeralds, 

 or in the winter, when their rich red fruit sets off the leafless branches. 



