Fieldfare.
Turdus pilaris, Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 291.
Silvia pilaris, Savi.
Merula pilaris, Selby, 111. Brit. Orn., vol. i. p. 160.
Arceuthomis pilaris, Kaup.
T h e Fieldfare and Redwing are so intimately associated, th a t when the mind reverts to one, the thoughts
are naturally led to the other. Both are migrants, which come to this country in autumn for the purpose of
spending the winter; and both simultaneously depart again in spring, to breed and pass the summer in
Norway, Lapland, and Russia. Like the Jackdaw and the Rook, they frequently unite in large flocks; but
this band of brotherhood is broken up a t the period of reproduction; each then goes its own way, and
selects its own locality,—the larger bird or Fieldfare nesting in communities, the smaller or Redwing more
solitarily.
The countries bordering the Arctic Circle are more quickly influenced by the retiring of the sun than
those further south, hence in the early part of autumn or the months of September and October insect-life
becomes more scarce; and, as no haws or berries are produced there, the great hordes of these birds are
necessitated to proceed further south, some to the British Islands, others to France and Spain, and others
to southern Russia and P e rsia : from north to south at one season, and vice versa a t the opposite period, are
the directions in which these birds and most migratory animals move. There are those who ease their
consciences by considering the destruction of a migrant fair s p o rt; and there are persons who will sneak
beneath the hedgerows the entire day for a chance shot at a Fieldfare, but who will allow the Thrush
and the Blackbird to fly off unscathed from the ditch along which they are creeping.
On their arrival in the autumn, the Fieldfares spread themselves so generally over the whole o f the British
Islands, that there is no part o f the country in which the bird may not be found, if the weather be open.
Arable lands, pastures, extensive heaths, and commons are principally resorted t o : there it hops over the
surface o f the ground, and searches for the insects, grubs, and other larvae which constitute its food. If
frost sets in, the berry-bearing trees o f the hedgerow afford it a supply; if the weather becomes still
more severe, and this kind of food scant, a southerly and westerly movement takes place, and an asylum is
sought in the warm and moist counties of Devonshire and Cornwall; here it remains until the weather
breaks, when it again returns to its former localities. In this way the bird spends the winter and awaits
the return o f the sun, some remaining until the end of April, and even till the beginning o f May, before
.hey wing their way across the northern seas to their summer home. But do they all go? Does not a
remnant remain behind and breed in some part of Scotland ? I think sufficient evidence has been adduced
by various writers that such is the c ase; but I must caution my readers not to mistake for it the Missel-
Thrush, which o f late years has become very numerous in that country. I have no intention of casting a
doubt upon the truthfulness o f those who have asserted that the Fieldfare breeds in the British Islands;
for some of their remarks are certainly worthy o f consideration, and, I think it likely, may be founded
in fact, and that now and then a pair, or a few pairs, may remain and breed in some suitable locality in the
Highlands. On this head the late Mr. St. John says 5*-«‘ 30th o f April: the Fieldfares are still here, but not
in numbers as they were a few days ago, when large flocks passed by, on their way to the northward. A few
pairs I am told breed in the large woods near the Spey; and in 1848 I was shown a nest and eggs brought
from that district by a brother of Mr. Dunbar, who described it as having been placed near the ground.”
In some remarks communicated to the ‘ Field ’ by Mr. Alexander Fraser, of Barncluith, Hamilton, N. B., he
says:— “ I observe that several of your correspondents mention as rare the seeing o f the Fieldfare in
Scotland as late as May. About a fortnight ago I had pointed out to me a nest supposed to be a Missel-
Thrush’s. The bird was evidently sitting. Two days after, the nest had been harried, and the eggs taken
away; however, I have the nest itself. I t answers Hewitson’s description exactly. To-day I have discovered
another nest o f the same bird. It has a t present only one egg—a Fieldfare’s undoubtedly. The
gamekeeper here tells me he has frequently seen nests o f the same b ird ; I also myself think I have observed
it before. I believe it is generally supposed not to breed in this country; here are at least two instances to
the contrary. Both nests were built in the first cleft of young trees, about 14 feet from the ground.”
Mr. Hewitson, who, with the enthusiasm o f a true lover o f nature, was induced to proceed on a bird-
nesting expedition to the coast of Norway in the summer of 1833, accompanied by his friends John Hancock
and B. Johnson, when speaking of this bird, says:— “ Intending that the Fieldfare should be our avant-courier
to its native land, it was with peculiar interest that we watched its long lingering in our own for weeks