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Fieldfare. istockphoto.comfieldfare

Turdus pilaris

Facts

Why not download our fieldfare fact sheet?


fieldfare fact sheet

  • fieldfare. wikimedia commons. Doina RussuOne of the larger thrushes, slightly bigger than a blackbird

  • Characteristic blue-grey head and rump

  • Chestnut back

  • White underwing flashes show in flight

  • Commonest call is “chack, chack, chack” in flight -click on the recording below to listen:



Where found

Look for them in single-species flocks or with redwings. Open country, fields, hedges and orchards throughout the UK, and gardens when weather is hard.

When to look for

Fabulous fieldfare facts

  • Robert Marsham, in his notes on birds written the late 1700s, notes that fieldfares 'taste very bitter'

  • They are very social birds, spending the winter in flocks of anything from a dozen to several hundred strong

  • They feed on insects, worms and berries - hawthorn hedges are a favourite feeding area

  • The RSPB estimates that there are 720,000 fieldfares overwintering in the UK (here from November to March)
 
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