Fieldfares

These fat brown birds break branches and bring leaves to the ground as they hop from one tree to the next, hunting for food while following the finely laid trail of a potential mate. You sit and look up, trying to capture a clear image of the little creatures in your camera's eye, but all you end up with is a blotch of white waste sent your way from feathered friends that don't appreciate being spied on. The Fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in these countries. It nests in trees, laying several eggs in a neat nest. Unusually for a thrush, they often nest in small colonies, possibly for protection from large crows. Migrating birds and wintering birds often form large flocks, often with Redwings. The English common name fieldfare dates back to at least the eleventh century. The Anglo-Saxon word feldefare perhaps meant traveller through the fields. Alternatively, it may be derived from Old English fealu fearh, literally grey piglet. has an extensive range, estimated at 10 million square kilometres (3.8 million square miles), and a large population, including an estimated 28 to 48 million individuals in Europe alone.