Habits, tyc. Breeds in the Himalayas from April to June above
6000 feet. The nest is a large deep cup made of grass and dry
leaves, with clay and mud, placed in trees. The eggs vary from
pink to greenish grey ; they are marked with brownish red and
purplish pink, and measure about 1*2 by *9.
696. Turdus pilaris. The Fieldfare.
Turdus pilaris, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 291 (1766) ; Blyth, Cat. p. 161 ; Horsf. $ M. Cat. i, p. 194 ; Hume, Cat. no. 367 ; Seebohm, Cat. B. M. v, p. 205.
Planesticus pilaris (Linn.), Jerd. B. I. , p. 530.
Coloration. Forehead, crown, nape, and hind neck slaty grey, the feathers with narrow brown tips and darker shafts ; back and scapulars chestnut-brown, with pale edges ; rump and upper tail- coverts slaty grey; tail dark brown, the outer feathers very nar- rowly tipped white ; wing-coverts dull rufous-brown with greyish margins ; winglet, primary-coverts, and primaries dark brown with narrow grey margins ; secondaries with the outer webs rufous, the inner brown ; lores and under the eye dark brown ; ear-coverts slaty grey ; traces of a pale supercilium extending as far as the ear-coverts; chin, throat, and breast bright buff streaked with black ; abdomen white ; sides of the body white, with large roundish rufous-brown spots ; axillaries and under wing-coverts pure white.
The plumage of this bird in summer differs little from the plumage in winter, the loss of the margins of the feathers causing but little change.
Bill yellow ; feet and legs black ; iris very dark brown (Seebohm). Length about 11 : tail 4 ; wing 5*5; tarsus 1-3 ; bill from gape M.
Distribution. The Fieldfare, according to Jerdon, has occurred once at Simla, and Adams records it from Kashmir. The only specimen I have ever seen from India is one obtained by Dr. Jameson at Saharanpnr, and presented by him to the Indian Museum, from which it passed to the British Museum. It can only be considered a very rare winter visitor to the north-west of India.
The Fieldfare has a wide range, being found from the Atlantic to the Tenesay river in Siberia, and coming south in winter as far as Turkestan on the east and North Africa on the west.
697. Turdus iliacus. The Redwing.
Turdus iliacus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 292 (1766) ; Blyth, Cat. p. 161 ; Jerd. B. 1. i, p. 532 ; Hume, Cat. no. 3C9 ; Seebohm, Cat. B. M. v, p. 189.
The Reducing Thrush, Jerd.
Coloration. The whole upper plumage and tail olive-brown ; the wings dark brown, all the feathers edged with olive-brown, the
