THE FIELDFARE. 

 Turdus pilaris, Linnaeus. 

 Plate i. 



Arriving about the same time as the Redwing, the Fieldfare is another of our 

 winter visitors from Scandinavia, and leaves us in April or the beginning of May. 

 It breeds in companies, the nest being placed in the fork of a birch or other tree, 

 sometimes only a few feet from the ground. The birds are very noisy when their 

 nests are approached, and utter harsh cries. The eggs, four to six in number, re- 

 semble the Blackbird's, being bluish-green, marked and blotched with reddish- 

 brown. The song is described by Seebohm {British Birds, p. 232) as "a wild 

 desultory warble." 



The Fieldfare is a shy and wary bird, the flocks in open weather frequenting 

 wide meadows and grass lands, while feeding on worms, insects, and grubs. In 

 times of frost or snow they come into the hedgerows, outskirts of copses, and even 

 gardens, subsisting then on berries. Though more hardy than the Redwing, they 

 soon feel the stress of weather, and numbers often perish. 



The female resembles the male in colour. 



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