84 
FIELDFARE. 
Mr Thompson mentions having disturbed them 
from similar places in Ireland, after they had 
settled for the night. 
The great body of the Fieldfares re-migrate* 
during the month of May ; and immediately on 
their arrival at the summer’s residence, com- 
mence to prepare themselves for the great 
purpose of breeding, and it is a remarkable cir- 
cumstance, for the first intimation of which we 
are indebted to Mr Hewitson, that contrary to 
what we know of the habits of the other thrushes, 
this species breeds in companies or gregariously. 
Their summer country is the north of Europe, 
where they seem to frequent the extensive pine 
forests, and here they have been, by all our writers 
recorded to breed ; but as we have only had this 
fact, in modern times, satisfactorily proved by 
the excursion of Mr Hewitson, we are tempted to 
extract his description of their breeding place 
from his beautiful “ Oology.” f “ We had, 
during a long ramble through those almost im- 
passable woods, met with many nests of a pre- 
vious summer, which we supposed must have been 
once tenanted by the birds of which we were in 
search ; and after having climbed many a tree to 
no purpose, were returning homewards disap- 
* Mag. of Zool. and Bot. II. p. 433. 
t British Oology, by William Hewitson, with lithogra- 
phic figures — two vols. are completed See also a paper 
by the same author, detailing the habits and breeding of 
many of our British birds, from notes during a tour made 
in Norway, Mag. of Zool. and Bot, II. p. 309. 
