Jhvèe/if iy£2iïoOEnu&i<fc6.
Ü F - IE IL B ^ A R E :.
Turdus p ila r is/£ùui/J
F I E L D F A R E
Turdus pilaris, £<infi.
Le Merle Utonie.
f.i, ^ Fieldfare is only a winter visitant of thé British Island? and the temperate parts of Europe, arriving in
'liMMttfij and departing northwards in the spring, its native habitat bring the regions adjacent to the arctic
ÿiïc'h as Sweden, Lapland, the Northern [wifîh of Butsia, Norway; where, according to Mr. Hewit-
*»wj «f Newcastle, it is very abundant . rV*tfi this gnntleniau’s MiteBij’sjlist; f awl very valuable work on the eggs
sjf British Birds, we have made tire ftdlowiag estraet ; ^'TlVwtBW' hm-x** by the discovery of several
'’i' rlfijlr nests. aml were surprised to fitiri them, j?p coslittwy'te i k ;- - i i v r i^verie® of the genus with
we.are acquainted, breeding in «ttefeetjr». TJwm*1 «¡wdg-wepe'-sit vikrw«@ h'#jghiH friuti chi? woiteit], -tom four
iiwu, to thirty or forty feet or 0$# ;hiw# $hftpcett2film$ '.fttfâ- They wifir?, ihe îom.i:
.lifiirt, placed against the'lièw&'tSf ÎP* «(Nw*, ifF i • ‘titéiiw- ni a considérable distasite lirthn it, mtm\
«Siè îi'pper snrfacfei ttnil toworil# the souiller end of tU tfeirifiéiii-liSiaiscÎM#. They resemble most nearly those of
i: ;e "Hlng Ouzel: the outside is con» posed of sticks, and -ooarse'gispi^ijd «¡««d* gathered wet, matted !.. it i< -
a small quantity of clajvand lined with a thick bed of fine diy grass« fHie sggs are fiiie p«d soMt^liates
## in nwiiiber; very like-those of the Blackbird and Ring Ouzel. The FVddfere is; the. most abundant bird hi
Norway, building as above described in society, two hundred nests or num.' being frequently iotind ivitiiiii a
vfiry small space’’
Ailer the breeding season is past, and when the severities of winter set in over those northern regions, vast
¡¡fUjjfiij congregate together anil pass gradually southwards till they find a locality affording the necessary means
tif subsistence;;’ hence, in our locality they spread'themselves overi fields and pasture lands in search of
•-vyriiii;, grubs, and insects, retreating to thick hedges, where variqus berries supply them food, when the
show precludes their other means of support. Unlike the Song Thrush they are shy and warv, not allowing
themselves to be approached, but-taking wing and wheeling off ip a body to some distant spot. ; This shy-
««as of disposition, together with the harshness of their note, assimilates them strongly to the Missel Thrush,
which in fact they closely resemble, except in their gregarious habirj.
1f1>e sexual ■ differences in the Fieldfare are so «riding, iw- te k* ¡«»nstfy perceptible j indeed, it «Kpwreft
»«atetaical examination to ascertain the distiuorioa.
'flje Fieldfare generally leaves, us m March. or Apt*!* :i*sjwfe p t v f v f o f their,
h a riw bred in our island. Tbeir ppwers of song aw ter;’ rn-.sin. r; .u-i M,v.it call ’-•-••• r i ’y iHu:
that of thé Shrikes.
Tfcèir flesh is by. many held in considerable, esteem, and htstee’ ffey eagerly pursued by the ^mner,
.1 circumstance which, if we mistake not, conduces much to ‘¿heir timid aoil suspicious habits.
!•» sine, the Fieldfare is next to the Missel Thrush, but pos*i*w» a .style of colouring peculiar to itself. The
heat!, kiwcr part of thejieck and romp cinereous 4frey ; the top of tbe back and wing-coverte chestnut brown j
sMé4; between the beak and the eye black ; a greyish wMte streak passes above the eyes ; the throat and
bran# light rufous brown, with lanceolate black spots ; the feathe» is die flanks are blotched with black and
hbrdéml with white ; the abdomen pure white ; tail black. the oàter feathers being inclined to grey ; bill
bright 'orange, with a black-tip ; tarsi black.
The Flute represents an adult bird of the natural site;.