7. fillaris, Lin. &c. Fieldfare, or Fieldfare Thrush, Prov. Fcldfare, and Pigeon Fieldfare. Brown•red above, varied with dusky beneath ; tail-feathers black, the outer one with the interior edge whitish at the tip; head and rump hoary. There are, besides, three or four varieties. Length, ten inches; extent of wing, sixteen; and weight, about four ounces.
The fieldfare occurs in Europe, Syria, and Siberia; but, in many countries, it is only a bird of passage, visiting them in the winter, and retiring in spring. It is generally supposed to breed in the northern regions, as in Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Lower Austria, and Siberia, building its nest in large trees, laying from four to six eggs, of a sea-green, spotted with rufous brown. In this country, they generally arrive about Michaelmas, or in October, in numerous flocks, blended with the red-wing, and frequently remain till the beginning of April, though they often take their departure in March. In France they seldom appear before November or December, and some of them occasionally loiter till the end of April, when they are observed to pad) though not to breed. With us, be sides insects, they readily partake of haws, the berries of the holly, juniper, &c.; and they are passionately fond of the fruit of the service. In very severe weather, they mi grate farther south ; but should a sudden fall of snow ar rest their progress, in crossing over the sea, many of them perish with cold and hunger. In the winter of 1798, a very heavy snow fell in the northern and eastern parts of England, when prodigious flocks of fieldfares appeared in the west ; but as the snow followed in their train, and re mained a considerable time on the ground, they became too weak to move southwards, and thousands that had been starved to death were picked up in Devonshire. If rigor ous weather comes on more gradually, and food becomes scarce, few are seen with us after Christmas; but they ap pear again, in small flocks, on their return northwards to breed. They seem to be of a more sociable disposition than either the throstle or missel, or else, from notions of common protection in regions where they are only visit ants, they congregate for mutual safety; for, although they are sometimes seen singly, they generally form very nu merous flocks, and fly in a body; and, though they often spread themselves through the fields in quest of food, they seldom lose sight of one another, but, when alarmed, fly off, and collect together on the same tree. When a per
son approaches a tree that is covered with them, they ap pear to continue fearless, until one, at the extremity of a branch, rising on its wings, utters a loud and peculiar note of alarm, when they all fly, with the exception of a single individual, which remains till the person comes still nearer, and then it, too, flies off, repeating the note of alarm. On their arrival in this island, they are generally observed to alight just before dark, and to take up their abode on the heath, or in woods; and they commonly roost on the ground. The song of the male, if he has any, during the breeding season, is, in course, unknown in this country; but his rallying cry of alarm is not distinguishable from that of the female. Linn, in his Fauna Suecica, alludes to a fieldfarc, which was bred in the house of a wine mer chant, and had become so familiar as to run along the ta ble, and drink the wine out of the glasses, in consequence of which habit it lost the feathers on the head ; but it re covered them, on being kept from its favourite beverage. Frisch ascribes the bitter relish of the flesh of this species to the bird's feeding on juniper berries. Some epicures prefer the flavour of those which have been fed only on insects ; but the ancient voluptuaries, who included the present species under Turdus, appear to have been much more extravagant in their admiration of its properties as an article of cookery ; for Varro tells us, that they fattened these birds with crumbs of bread, mixed with minced figs, and various kinds of food, to improve the delicacy of their flesh, and that the people employed for this purpose kept thousands of them in successive states of preparation for the table. The aviaries in which they were kept, were so contrived, as to admit barely enough of light to direct them to their food, whilst every object that might contribute to remind them of their former liberty, was carefully kept out of view, such as the fields, woods, birds, or whatever might disturb the repose deemed requisite for enhancing their value in the eyes of the cook. When prepared un der this system of management, they were sold for about two shillings each.