Fieldfare
The Fieldfare is a member of the thrush family which is very similar to a Mistle Thrush in general size, shape and behaviour. It has a slate grey crown, neck and rump, a plain brown back, dark wings, blackish tail and white underwings. The breast and flanks are heavily speckled. The breast has a reddish wash and the rest of the underparts are white. The sexes are similar in appearance but the females are slightly more brown. The male has a simple chattering song and the birds have various guttural flight and alarm calls.
The Fieldfare is a migratory species with a Palearctic distribution. It breeds in north Norway, north Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and in to Asia. In the summer the Fieldfare frequents mixed woodland of birch, alder, pine, spruce and fir, often near marshes, moorland or other open ground. It does not avoid the vicinity of humans and can be seen in cultivated areas, orchards, parks and gardens. It also inhabits open tundra and the slopes of hills above the tree line. It often breeds in small colonies, possibly for protection from predators. The first known breeding of the Fieldfare in the UK was in 1967 when a pair nested in Orkney. Very small numbers have continued nesting fairly regularly in Scotland.
The winter range extends through west Europe, including the UK, south Europe and north Africa although it is uncommon in the Mediterranean region. Eastern populations migrate to Anatolia, Israel, Iran and north west India. Migrating and wintering Fieldfares often form large flocks, often in the company of Redwings. In the winter, the Fieldfare can be found in open country, agricultural land, orchards, open woodland and gardens. It is nomadic, wandering wherever there is an abundance of berries and insects. Later in the year it moves on to pastureland and cultivated fields.
The Fieldfare is omnivorous. Animal food in the diet includes snails and slugs, earthworms, spiders and insects such as beetles and their larvae, flies and grasshoppers. In the autumn ripened berries such as hawthorn, holly, rowan, yew, juniper, dog rose, cotoneaster, pyracantha and berberis are eaten. In addition, windfall apples, grain and seeds are eaten. When these are exhausted, or in particularly harsh weather, the birds may move to marshes or even the foreshore where molluscs can be found.
Date: 7th February 2012
Location: Laindon, Essex
The Fieldfare is a migratory species with a Palearctic distribution. It breeds in north Norway, north Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and in to Asia. In the summer the Fieldfare frequents mixed woodland of birch, alder, pine, spruce and fir, often near marshes, moorland or other open ground. It does not avoid the vicinity of humans and can be seen in cultivated areas, orchards, parks and gardens. It also inhabits open tundra and the slopes of hills above the tree line. It often breeds in small colonies, possibly for protection from predators. The first known breeding of the Fieldfare in the UK was in 1967 when a pair nested in Orkney. Very small numbers have continued nesting fairly regularly in Scotland.
The winter range extends through west Europe, including the UK, south Europe and north Africa although it is uncommon in the Mediterranean region. Eastern populations migrate to Anatolia, Israel, Iran and north west India. Migrating and wintering Fieldfares often form large flocks, often in the company of Redwings. In the winter, the Fieldfare can be found in open country, agricultural land, orchards, open woodland and gardens. It is nomadic, wandering wherever there is an abundance of berries and insects. Later in the year it moves on to pastureland and cultivated fields.
The Fieldfare is omnivorous. Animal food in the diet includes snails and slugs, earthworms, spiders and insects such as beetles and their larvae, flies and grasshoppers. In the autumn ripened berries such as hawthorn, holly, rowan, yew, juniper, dog rose, cotoneaster, pyracantha and berberis are eaten. In addition, windfall apples, grain and seeds are eaten. When these are exhausted, or in particularly harsh weather, the birds may move to marshes or even the foreshore where molluscs can be found.
Date: 7th February 2012
Location: Laindon, Essex
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Also in: Thrushes
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