It is a winter visitor to Turkestan and Central Asia.. Russow met with it at Tschinas (Pleske,
Mem. Acad. Imp. Pétersb. (7) xxxvi. p. 7), and the brothers Grum-Grzimailo at Morgol and
Schao-Wan (id. Mèi. Biol. xiii. p. 292). Przevalski procured specimens on the Saissan River and in
Western Zaidam in December, and at Saissansk in March (Pleske, Wissensch. Result. Przev. Zool.
ii. Vog. p; 6).
According to Jerdon the Fieldfare has once been procured at Simla in the North-western
Himalayas, and a specimen said to be from Saharunpur, formerly in the India Museum, is now
in the British Museum. Dr. Leith Adams says that the species was common in the oak- and
pine-forests of Cashmere ; but I think there must have been some mistake in the identification, as
no other collector has met with the Fieldfare in Cashmere, nor was it noticed by Colonel Biddulph
nor by Dr. Scully at Gilgit.
In its breeding-haunts in Scandinavia the Fieldfare is a bird of every-day observation,
and its presence is easily discovered by the harsh alarm-note which the bird utters when its domain
is intruded upon. I have found the nest in all kinds of places in Norway, the birds generally
building in colonies in the lower valleys, especially in the small clumps of birch-trees which form
spinneys near some of the farms ; but on the higher grounds, in the birch-forests which clothe the
mountains up to the tree-limit, the colonies are very small and generally consist of four or five
pairs within a small area of wood, while still more often a solitary couple take up their abode and
build their nest without any companions near. On the fjelds, before the saeters are occupied for
the summer by the cows and the dairy-maids, the Fieldfares have the land to themselves, and
build in the most exposed and often absurd situations. Where a solitary pine-tree stands in a
birch-wood, it is almost certain to be selected by a pair of Fieldfares as a nesting-home, and this
is especially the case in the higher birch-woods not far below the snow-line. I have more than
once been surprised to find an isolated pair of Fieldfares nesting at a quite unexpected height in
the mountains without any other sign of bird-life near; but, then, to a creature of such strong flight a
few hundred feet on a mountain side mean nothing, and one may often see a Fieldfare crossing high
in the air, from one side of a valley to the other. No nest is easier to find than that of the present
species, for even if it be a little way off the path and liable to escape detection, the angry alarm-notes
of the parent birds are sure to indicate its vicinity ; and when there is a colony, the noise they make
is quite remarkable, as they utter their harsh notes of expostulation at the intruder, who, however, if
he be an English ornithologist, will be enjoying, perhaps for the first time in his life, an opportunity
of studying this fine bird at close quarters. Nothing could have been more interesting than my first
acquaintance with the Fieldfare in its nesting-haunts in Norway. A thick mist had enveloped, our
party as we approached the farm-house on the mountains where we were to spend the night, arriving
there six hours behind our appointed time and finding all the family in bed. The bustle of
unpacking our luggage and stabling the ponies woke to life the House-Martins, Pied Flycatchers,
and other inhabitants of the homestead ; but the noise of our arrival seemed to be resented most by
the Fieldfares, who lived in a small wood behind the farm-house, and through the rest of the night,
whenever I awoke, I could hear the “ chuck ” or the harsh challenge so familar to our ears in winter,
uttered by the birds in the adjoining trees. These cries became more intense when the sun rose,
and a few of the birds commenced to sing a few notes, of no great beauty or variety, and sufficient
to prove that the Fieldfare is not much of a songster. While breakfast- was being got ready, I
wandered into the little birch-gro.ve, and was immediately the centre of attraction to the wfiole
colony of Fieldfares. Nests were in every other tree,.and all contained eggs, no doubt by this
time (June 13th) highly incubated, but no. young birds. In the centre of the wood was a solitary
dead pine, on whose naked arms the Fieldfares perched, peering, down at me in every attitude of
conceivable grace, and I never saw anything which pleased me more than this my first, experience
of Turdiis pilaris in its native home. This was the largest colony of the birds 1 have ever met
with, and on the fjelds five or six pairs nesting in close proximity are as much as I have ever noticed,
while isolated nests are not uncommon. Some of these are placed in absurdly open positions. I
have seen one nest close" to a house ,in a small birch, and another on the top of a fence close to a
path, in direct view of everyone leaving the house, both being built so low down that anyone could
look into the nests. They must inevitably have been discovered by us, even i f the clamour of the
parent birds had not at once revealed their position. Another nest was placed on the open
window-sill of an unoccupied saeter in full view of anyone approaching the house, but was left
unmolested when the latter became inhabited for the summer, and the young birds were duly
reared. On another occasion I found a nest in a small birch-tree standing by itself on the side
of the road, and the mother bird, drenched to the skin, as we were ourselves, was squatting on the
nest and protecting her young from the rain, her wings being outstretched over each side of the nest.
When the young are hatched, the birds are quieter and less demonstrative, as if afraid of drawing
attention to their progeny, and the parents may then be seen searching for food by the side
of the water and flying off with it to the nest in the quietest and most unobtrusive manner.
The following account is taken from Seebohm’s ‘ History of British Birds ’ :—“ The Fieldfare’s
haunts in Britain are varied ones. A thorough wanderer, it is seen almost everywhere; either
passing over on its journeyings from place to place, or stationary as long as its food is
to be obtained. It prefers the isolated woods and pastures to shrubberies, although in severe
weather it is often seen amongst evergreens, in company with the Redwing. These birds also
frequent the well-cultivated districts, seeking their food on the tall hedges; and occasionally a few
stragglers come quite ciose to the houses to feed on the hawthorns in the gardens. As long as the
weather keeps open, the Fieldfares seem to shun man’s presence almost entirely ; but the first severe
fall of snow, the first sharp frost, brings them ‘ in ’ in great numbers.
“ The first visit to the breeding-place of the Fieldfare is an event in the life of an ornithologist
never to be forgotten. As you drive along the excellent Norwegian roads in the carioles or light
gigs of the country, through the pine-forests or by the side of the cultivated land near the villages,
there is little in the bird-life to remind you that you are not in one of the mountainous districts of
England. As you approach the Dovrefjeld, however, the ground rises, the pines become smaller,
and the hill-sides are sprinkled over with birch trees. Now is the time to look out for the Fieldfare.
Presently the long watched-for tsak, tsaJc is heard. You tie your horse to the nearest tree, climb the
hill-side whence the sound came, and presently find yourself in a colony of Fieldfares. The birds
make a great uproar as you invade their domain, but soon escape beyond gunshot, and their distant
tsak, tsak is the only sound you can hear. Your natural impulse is to ascend the first tree where
you can see a nest, which is almost sure to be placed in the fork of a birch against the t r u n k and the
first large branch. Close by are sure to be many more nests, some built on the flat horizontal branch
of a pine ; and outlying nests belonging to the colony will be found for some distance all round.
“ The Fieldfare arrives on our shore a little later than the Redwing—in the last week of October,
or, perhaps more frequently, in the beginning of November. It is, however, a difficult thing to give
the exact date of this bird’s appearance; for its wandering mode of life in this country baffles precise
observation, and renders a record of the exact date of its arrival almost an impossibility. Like the
other members of this group of birds, the Fieldfare migrates for the most part at night, and usually
at a considerable height.
“ When the first heavy fall of snow is lying on the ground, a walk abroad will probably cause
you to make the acquaintance o f the Fieldfare. There is something about the first heavy fall of snow
peculiarly attractive and interesting to the naturalist—in fact to all who take a delight in rural scenes.
The whole landscape then bears a strange novel look; it is something fresh; and, what is more, bird