Turdus pilaris
The Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) is a striking, medium-sized thrush renowned for its gregarious nature and bold appearance. Measuring 22-27 cm in length with a wingspan of 39-42 cm and weighing 80-140 grams, it is easily identified by its distinctive slate-grey head, nape, and rump, contrasting sharply with a rufous-brown back. Its breast is richly speckled with dark streaks on an orange-buff background, fading to white on the belly. In flight, a prominent white underwing flash is a key field m...
This adaptable thrush primarily inhabits open woodlands, farmlands, orchards, and taiga edges, thriving in areas with scattered trees and open ground. It can be found from sea level up to moderate mountain elevations.
Fieldfares are omnivorous, primarily consuming invertebrates such as worms, snails, and insects during the breeding season, supplementing their diet with a wide variety of berries and fruits, especially in autumn and winter.
Fieldfares are highly social birds, especially outside the breeding season, forming large flocks that can number in the hundreds or even thousands, often roosting communally. They forage primarily by ground gleaning for invertebrates, but also hawk for flying insects and pluck berries from trees ...
The Fieldfare's primary breeding range spans across northern and central Eurasia, from Scandinavia and northern Russia eastward through Siberia. Its western breeding distribution has expanded significantly in recent decades, now including parts of the British Isles and Western Europe. During the ...
Least Concern
- Fieldfares are known for their unique defense mechanism of 'projectile defecation,' accurately aiming droppings at predators like owls or crows that approach their nests. - They are one of the most social thrush species, often forming vast winter flocks that can number in the thousands and ofte...