These birds mostly live and breed in the extensive birch forests that abound in Northern Europe, and usually make their appearance in the central portions of that continent late in the autumn, rarely wandering as far as its extreme south. They generally appear in Great Britain in large flocks about March, when, should the season permit, they at once spread themselves over the fields in every direction in search of insects, or if these have all disappeared, seek the berries that constitute their principal food in our hedges and gardens. But should the weather prove so exceptionally cold as to deprive them of the latter means of support, they are compelled to wander still farther south, returning, however, to Great Britain again before the end of the winter. Under ordinary circumstances, they remain with us till May, and have occasionally been known to breed in Yorkshire, Kent, and some parts of Scotland. Mr. Hewitson thus describes the habits of the Fieldfare when preparing its nest:—"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 to be Shrikes, but which afterwards proved to be Fieldfares. 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; 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 resemble most nearly those of the Ring Ouzel; the outside is composed of sticks and coarse grass and weeds, gathered wet, matted with a small quantity of clay, and lined with a thick bed of fine dry grass. None of them as 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. The eggs are very similar to those of the Blackbird, and still more to those of the Ring Ouzel."
FIELDFARES.
THE REDWING.
The REDWING (Turdus iliacus) is eight inches and a half long and thirteen and a half broad. Its wing measures four and a half, and tail three and a half inches. Upon the upper part of the body the plumage is of a greenish brown, the under side whitish, the sides of the breast bright rust-red, and the throat yellowish, marked all over with triangular and round dark brown spots. The female is of a lighter colour than her mate. The back of the young is greenish, spotted with yellow, and their lower wing-covers rust-red; the eyes of all are reddish brown; the beak black, except at the base of the lower mandible, which is grey; the foot is of a reddish hue. This species is also an inhabitant of Northern Europe, but usually appears in the more southern portions of the continent at the close of autumn. Its winter migration extends as far as Northern Africa; it is also met with in Asia, but has never, we believe, been seen in an easterly direction beyond Irkutzk.
THE REDWING (Turdus iliacus).
It generally arrives in Great Britain about October, appearing in large flocks; and great numbers frequently perish, should the winter be extremely severe. "The Redwings," says Yarrell, in his excellent "History of British Birds," "are much less inclined to feed on berries than most of the other species of this genus, and should the resources obtained by their search on the ground be closed against them by long-continued frost and snow, the Redwings are first to suffer. During such severe seasons as in 1799, 1814, and 1822, hundreds have been found almost starved, alike unable to prosecute their journey south to more congenial countries, or to bear the rigour of this." Whether such mortality resulted from the intensity of the cold, or the long continuance of snow upon the ground, may be matter for speculation.