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Fieldfare chick.

 

Fieldfare

Hallrästas

Turdus pilaris

 

Fieldfares are well known to city people. We meet quite large groups of them in parks, garden areas and cemeteries. The doings of the birds are mostly always accompanied by a ceaseless raucous chattering going on half-way into June. When a bird of prey appears the chatter changes into noisy uproar.

 

Fieldfare with earthworm.

 

Male and female birds look similar. It is a big thrush, with a chestnut brown back, grey head and gump area, a long tail, upper side black,underside yellowish, with sparse dark spots. The development of the young is quite easy to observe in the tree crowns: often there are two-three nests in the same tree. The hatched fieldfare chicks leave the nest in a few weeks and already in a couple of days start flying exercises: the chicks become fledglings.