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Fieldfare
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Fieldfare- THE BIRD
Fieldfares are common thrushes, quite well known to birders in the UK, Europe and areas to their north. They are conspicuous thrushes with very sociable habits which form large noisy flocks. The Fieldfare's diet is composed of insects and berries. Flocks of them commonly take advantage of windfalls in orchards and loudly announce their presence. The scientific name for a Fieldfare is Turdus pilaris. Turdus
is a name for the thrush family and pilaris is latin for hair or head.
So named, they are large thrushes distinguished by their gray heads
and the chevron shaped markings on their breasts. (See the article
on classification of birds for more information on naming birds click here).
Even though Fieldfares are old world migrants, they occasionally turn
up as vagrants in North America. Their description is included in
a lot of the North American Field Guides just in case one shows up
in the US. In Europe there are several other thrushes that it could
be confused with. Fieldfare Turdus pilarus 25.5cm (10.04 in.) These thrushes are a little larger than a European blackbird with a red or chestnut colored back. The light colored breast is speckled with chevrons, a noticeable V shaped pattern turned upside down. Beaks are a light color. Its head and rump are Gray and the white under-wing helps distinguish it from some similar looking birds. The call is a noisy, crackling chuck sound. European birds with similar field marks to Fieldfares: Blackbird (females and juveniles.), Song Thrush, Redwing, and Mistle Thrush
Blackbird Turdus merula 23 cm (9.06 in)
Song Thrush Turdus philomelos 23cm (9.06 in.)
Redwing Turdus iliacus 21cm (8.27 in)
Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorous 27cm(10.63 in)
US birds that are close in identification to a Fieldfare American RobinTurdus migratorious 9-11 in.(23-28cm) Young American Robins have a speckled breast and are about the same size. Vagrant Fieldfares that make it to the states have been found joining up with flocks of American Robins, perhaps because of their similar feeding and socialization habits. Other thrushes in the US that have that spotted breasts and are approximately the same size are, Wood Thrush, Hermit Thrush and Swainson's Thrush, but they all have the overall redish brown color without any gray. |
Watch a Video! Fieldfares do have an interesting defense behavior and it's not pretty. As a flock, they group together to drive off predators by flying over them and defecating on the targets. It does not sound like such a big deal at first but the repeated soiling of a bird's feathers can cause it to become soaked and lose its ability to thermoregulate causing its death. In this video, world renoun Zoologist, David Attenborough captures the Fieldfare's mobbing behavior as it defends its nestlings against a Raven. Fieldfare Video from Life of Birds |
January 2010 - Fieldfares are being sighted in large numbers in the UK Here are some helpful links to Fieldfare sightings- Fieldfare Irruption 2010 |
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Fieldfare-THE Company I get a lot of use out of my field guides and always want one right with me when I am birding or even in the
car as a quick reference. I also take notes on certain identification tips that I've learned from other bird watchers and
write them down right next to the species they refer to. After destroying book after book pulling it in and out of a zippered field bag,
I thought I would find a way to save the book and carry it too. Since my binos were always around my neck anyway, it did not have to be complex. I came up with my field
guide covers and a way to stop the books from sliding out of the cover. (Ref- Green, Paul. Birding Vol.30, No.3. June 1998.) |