2482 Birds. 



appear about a week or ten days after old Michaelmas day : indeed, 

 when we consider the amazing distances migratory birds have to travel, 

 the accidents to which they are liable, the adverse winds they have 

 sometimes to encounter and the rough weather they have to brave, the 

 accuracy of their comings and goings is almost miraculous. If a table 

 were kept year by year of their motions on these occasions, perhaps 

 they would not be found to vary a fortnight in a hundred years; and 

 yet what seas, rocks and continents have many of them to traverse ! 

 I had once an opportunity of seeing a flock of fieldfares immediately 

 on their arrival, and they appeared completely worn down by fatigue, 

 yet comparatively the distance from their native Norwegian forests is 

 very short. Not a bird had been visible in the neighbourhood before, 

 and on going my rounds I observed a large flock, which, after wheel- 

 ing about, took possession of some tall oaks. Although generally shy, 

 they allowed me to approach them within about twenty paces, seeming 

 to take little notice, but immediately descended on some hawthorn 

 bushes and ate the fruit greedily. When departing, in spring, the 

 flocks are sometimes very large. On February 26, 1844, an assem- 

 blage took place here, consisting of redwings and fieldfares, which 

 covered the tops of twelve trees. Fieldfares exist here in smaller 

 numbers than redwings, flock together less, and feed almost exclusively 

 on the fruit of the wild rose. They are partial to watercourses and 

 drains, apparently going there to drink ; and snipe-shooters bag a 

 good many, killing them as they rise from the water's edge. Both 

 this bird and the redwing are here called ' feldifare,' but the former 

 is distinguished from the latter by the name of ' pigeon feldifare,' on 

 account of its larger size and lighter coloured plumage. 



Blackbird (Turdus merula). In the autumn these birds resort to 

 turnip-fields, to feed on the slugs. I have put up seventeen from one 

 field. In hard winters they feed on the scarlet berries of the Pira- 

 cantha tree, even when trained close to a house door. 



Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus). Breeds on our northern Derby- 

 shire streams, and is occasionally seen when crossing our parish on its 

 periodical passage. 



Hedge Accentor (Accentor modularis). 



Redbreast {Sylvia rubecula). The redbreast is a bird so engaging 

 in his manners, so sprightly in his actions, so confiding in disposition, 

 that no wonder he is almost universally known and a general favourite. 

 He is associated with the rambles of childhood, when the woods were 

 green and pleasant sights greeted the eye and pleasant sounds the 

 oar ; and we remember him also as the welcome petitioner, who, when 



