The Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) name dates back to at least the eleventh century. The Anglo-Saxon word feldefare is thought to have meant traveller through the fields. It is a member of the thrush family. The adult males and female are alike and breed in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. Fieldfares migrate from Scandinavia and continental Europe, often appearing in the east of England and then spreading across the rest of the UK throughout the winter. Of the 750,000 birds that fly to Britain, it is thought that fewer than than five pairs remain during the summer to breed. The rest return to Scandinavia.
