FIELDFARE 
11 
are more conspicuous to ear and eye than those of 
the Redwing, as they pass overhead with the note 
" chak-chak," or fly in alarm, with the same cry 
loudly uttered, from a thickly-berried hawthorn or 
holly-bush on some bright, hard winter's morning. 
It can be distinguished from the Missel Thrush, 
which has much the same habits in winter, by the 
much more distinct grey patch on the lower part 
of the back, and also by its cry. The Missel 
Thrush makes a sort of grinding, rattling screech, 
broken into irregular lengths, while the Fieldfare's 
chak-chak-chak " is clearly divided into syllables. 
The Fieldfare breeds in much the same regions as 
the Redwing, but is more often found further to 
the southward in Germany, as well as penetrating 
into upland parts of Norway where the Redwing 
does not occur. It nests in the spruce and fir 
forests, often in colonies ; but like the Redwing, 
if trees are missing, it makes itself at home among 
rocks and on banks. The eggs are very boldly 
blotched, resembling the Ring Ouzel's or the 
most unusual type of Blackbird's. It is extremely 
interesting, to those who know the Fieldfare and 
Redwing as winter birds in large roving flocks, to 
watch them picking about in the copses near the 
Norwegian houses in summer, just like their 
cousins the English Thrushes and Blackbirds at 
home. 
