that, arriving here in large flocks in search of food, and if
the weather continues open and mild, spreading themselves
over pasture-lands to look for worms, slugs, the larvae of
insects, and any other soft-bodied animals of that so rt; but
on the occurrence of snow or frost, they betake themselves
to the hedges, and feed greedily on haws and various other
berries. At this time they are much sought after by youthful
gunners, who find them shy and difficult to approach :
the whole flock taking wing and keeping together, settle by
scores on some distant tree, from whence, if again disturbed,
they wheel off in a body as before. Should the weather
become very severe, the Fieldfares leave us to go farther
south, and are again seen on their return. They are known
to go as far to the south and to the east as Minorca, Smyrna,
and Syria. The Fieldfare does not return to its breeding-
ground till late in the season. I have known them shot on
the ]2th of May, and others have been seen much later.
White of Selbome says, that one particular season they
remained till the beginning of June ; and he asks, why do
they not breed in the Highlands? Some instances have
occurred of the Fieldfare breeding in this country; and Pennant,
or the editor rather of the last edition of the British
Zoology, mentions two instances that came to his knowledge.
More recently, a nest has been found in Kent, and
others in Yorkshire and Scotland; but in Orkney and Shetland,
according to the observations of Mr. Dunn, it is only
seen on its passage to and from other countries. Mr. W. C.
Hewitson, whose zeal in the cause of Natural History induced
him to visit Norway a few summers since in the hope
of obtaining many rare specimens for illustration in his excellent
work on the Eggs of British Birds, thus describes the
nesting habits of the Fieldfare:—After a long ramble through
some very thick woods, “ our attention was attracted by the
harsh cries of several birds, which we at first supposed must
be Shrikes> but which afterwards proved to be Fieldfares,
anxiously watching over their newly-established dwellings.
We were soon delighted by the discovery of several of their
nests, and were surprised to find them (so contrary to the
habits of other species of the genus Turdus with which we
are acquainted) breeding in society. Their nests were at
various heights from the ground, from four feet to thirty or
forty feet or upwards, mixed with old ones of the preceding
year: they were, for the most part, placed against the trunk
of the spruce fir; some were, however, at a considerable
distance from it, upon the upper surface and towards the
smaller end of the thicker branches : they resembled most
nearly those of the Ring Ouzel; the outside is composed
of sticks, and coarse grass and weeds gathered wet, matted
together with a small quantity of clay, and lined with a thick
bed of fine dry grass : none of them yet contained more
than three eggs, although we afterwards found that five was
more commonly the number than four, and that even six
was very frequent; they are very similar to those of the
Blackbird, and even more so to the Ring Ouzel. The
Fieldfare is the most abundant bird in Norway, and is generally
diffused over that part which we visited; building, as
already noticed, in society, two hundred nests or more being
frequently seen within a very small space.1” The eggs
are light blue, mottled over with spots of dark red brown;
the length one inch three lines, the breadth ten lines.
Wm. Christy, Esq. Jun. who, with a party of naturalists,
visited Norway in the summer of 1836, says, on the mountains
called the Dovrefeld, Fieldfares were rearing their
young; they were just able to fly about on the 6th of August.
The call-note of the Fieldfare is harsh ; but its song is
soft and melodious. In confinement it soon becomes reconciled,
and sings agreeably. At night when at large it fre