THE FIELDFARE. 3 33 



which had been preceded by snow. Two wild-fowl shooters who 

 were out in the bay every morning for a week previous to the 

 commencement of the frost, heard large flocks of these birds 

 flying overhead before daybreak. They all came from a northerly 

 and proceeded in a southerly direction. The frost and snow setting 

 in northwards probably before it reached us may have compelled 

 the birds to migrate to a more genial climate. There was no 

 moonlight at the time. 



On the 27th and 28th of January, 1848, when hard frost had 

 for some time prevailed, and the ground was sparingly covered, 

 with snow, an accurate observer, for a long time watched a large 

 flock of from 150 to 200 of these birds, in a field of Swedish 

 turnips at Island hill, near Strangford Lough. Lying behind the 

 fence, hidden by a furze or whin-bush, he was within four yards 

 of the nearest, and saw that the birds generally over the field 

 were engaged pecking eagerly at the roots of the turnip. They 

 were very pugnacious, attacking each other like game-cocks ; a 

 couple thus engaged, sometimes springing even two feet into the 

 air ; never less than about a dozen pair were thus off the ground 

 at the same time. This singular appearance was the means of 

 attracting from a distance the attention of my informant to the 

 spot. When a couple were fighting, a third often came up 

 and attacked one of them, which was no sooner done, than the 

 previous combatant so relieved betook itself again to turnip-feeding. 

 They never fought long, — " only two or three blows at a time," — 

 but kept up a continual feast and continual battle. On afterwards 

 examining the turnips in the field, he saw, to his surprise, consi- 

 dering their being hard frozen, and the weak bills of the birds, that 

 they had to a great extent been eaten by the fieldfares. As water 

 would lodge where the roots had been pecked, they would, he 

 conceived, be rotted in consequence, to the serious damage of the 

 crop. Five of these birds having been shot and brought to Bel- 

 fast, I had an opportunity of examining their stomachs ; winch, 

 even before being opened, all smelled strongly of turnips, and 

 on being cut into, were found to be filled exclusively with that 



