THE FIELDFARE 



it chiefly subsists during its stay with us. At night 

 these flocks usually resort to some shrubbery to roost, 

 continuing to do so as long as they remain in the locality. 

 Next to the Missel-Thrush the Fieldfare is the wildest 

 and the wariest of the British Thrushes. The flocks gene- 

 rally pass from place to place at a good height, and the 

 birds may be readily recognised by the white under the 

 wings, which is very conspicuous during flight, and also 

 by their harsh notes of sack-sack. Beyond these harsh 

 call-notes and a series of low guttural notes often heard 

 at the roosting-place or when the birds are feeding, the 

 Fieldfare is silent. Its song is reserved for the breeding 

 season in the Arctic regions, where it nests. During its 

 stay with us the bird is chiefly a berry-feeder, but in 

 summer it subsists on animal substances and fruit. It 

 breeds in scattered colonies, making a nest very similar 

 to that of the Blackbird, and its five or six eggs so closely 

 resemble those of that species that they cannot be dis- 

 tinguished. 



The adult Fieldfare has the general colour of the upper 

 parts slate-grey, spotted on the head with black, and the 

 back is chestnut-brown. The wings and tail are brownish 

 black ; the throat and breast are buffish brown ; the centre 

 of the abdomen and the axillaries are white ; the throat and 

 breast have black streaks, and the buff flanks are mottled 

 with black. Bill yellow ; tarsi and toes black ; irides brown. 

 Length about 10 inches. The nestling is spotted on the 

 upper parts. 



