Page 312 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

CHATS AND THRUSHES
Order Passeriformes Family Turdidae Species Turdus pilaris
Fieldfare blue-grey head black and
yellow bill
with black mask
dark brown back
(juvenile has
mostly white brown spots on
underwings wing coverts)
ADULT
black
pale tail
grey IN FLIGHT
rump
black-spotted,
pale to deep
orange-buff
breast
grey
rump
ADULT
whiter (SUMMER)
flanks black spots on
ADULT white flanks
(WINTER)
large, striking, and handsome thrush, the Fieldfare has a FLIGHT: quite strong, somewhat undulating, with
Adistinctive call and a unique combination of colours.The bursts of wingbeat; irregular glides, quite slow and
white underwing is a useful feature for identification, as is erratic; often in flocks.
the tendency to move around in flocks and to
nest colonially. Flocks in flight keep more or NOMADIC FLOCKS
Fieldfares flock in winter, moving
less together but drift along in irregular lines about and feeding together. They
and shapeless packs, less coordinated than, often mix with Redwings and
for example, some of the smaller finches. interact with thrushes such as
VOICE Distinctive loud, soft or harder, Blackbirds and Mistle Thrushes.
chuckling chak-chak-chak or tsak-tsak-tsak,
low, nasal Lapwing-like weeip; song rather
poor, unmusical mixture of squeaks, warbles,
and whistles.
NESTING Cup of grass and twigs, in bush or
tree, often in loose colonies; 5 or 6 eggs;
1 or 2 broods; May–June.
FEEDING Mostly eats worms and insects on
ground; also takes apples, berries, and other
fruit from trees, hedges, and bushes. OCCURRENCE
Breeds across N and E Europe in
SIMILAR SPECIES wooded regions. Widespread,
social winter visitor through all of
MISTLE THRUSH BLACKBIRD 2; dark KESTREL 3; W and S Europe, in wooded areas,
see p.309 underwings in flight; see p.140 bushy heaths, and farmland
see p.311
paler back much (especially old pastures and
larger
pale orchards) with hedges and
tail scattered trees. Visits gardens in
more uniform severe weather.
Seen in the UK
JF M A M J JA S ON D
Length 25cm (10in) Wingspan 39–42cm (15 1 ⁄2 –16 1 ⁄2in) Weight 80–130g (2 7 ⁄8 –5oz)
Social Winter flocks Lifespan 5–10 years Status Secure
310