Fieldfare Turdus pilaris
Winter distribution change
Common winter/passage, breeds Fenno-Scandia, winters west/south Europe
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Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2013
Atlas species lists
- Breeding distribution 1995–2000
- Summer abundance 1995–2000
- Winter distribution 1995–2000
- Winter abundance 1995–2000
- Breeding distribution 2007–2012
- Summer abundance 2007–2012
- Winter distribution 2007–2012
- Winter abundance 2007–2012
- Breeding distribution change
- Summer abundance change
- Winter distribution change
- Winter abundance change
More Fieldfare maps
- Breeding distribution 1995–2000
- Summer abundance 1995–2000
- Winter distribution 1995–2000
- Winter abundance 1995–2000
- Breeding distribution 2007–2012
- Summer abundance 2007–2012
- Winter distribution 2007–2012
- Winter abundance 2007–2012
- Breeding distribution change
- Summer abundance change
- Winter distribution change
- Winter abundance change
More maps for this atlas
Map explanation
This map shows the changes which occurred in the winter distribution of the species between 1995-2000 and 2007-2012, but only in the limited selection of tetrads that were surveyed in winter for Birds of Wiltshire (Wiltshire Ornithological Society 2007).
Key
Status
Nos tetrads
Absent to present
125
28%
Present in both
302
68%
Present to absent
10
2%
Not surveyed
Fieldfares breed mainly from eastern France, the Low Countries and Fenno-Scandia across Eurasia to eastern Siberia. They have also been recorded nesting as far west as Greenland and as far south as Greece. They winter mostly in western, central and southern Europe, also from Turkey to the Nile delta, in northwest Iran and, irregularly during severe winters, in areas further to the south of these regions.
Up to a million Fieldfares arrive in Britain in winter from Fenno-Scandia and are found everywhere except in parts of the Scottish highlands and the Hebrides. They are also widely reported during the breeding season: Bird Atlas 2007-2011 recorded them in over one thousand three hundred 10km squares in summer, but breeding was confirmed or probable in only ten of them with possible breeding in a further eleven - all the rest were assumed to be late departing winter visitors.
Fieldfares have been familiar winter visitors to Wiltshire at least since the mid-19th century. The numbers present have been calculated to be about 15% of the total British population, making them the fourth most numerous bird in Wiltshire in winter, exceeded only by Wood Pigeon, Starling and Rook. Birds of Wiltshire recorded them in 70% of the tetrads surveyed. WTA2 recorded them in 96% of all tetrads.
References
The following references are used throughout these species accounts, in the abbreviated form given in quotation marks:
“1968-72 Breeding Atlas” – Sharrack, J.T.R. 1976: The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. Poyser
“1981-84 Winter Atlas” – Lack, P.C. 1986: The Atlas of Wintering Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. Poyser
“1988-91 Breeding Atlas” – Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. & Chapman, R.A. 1993: The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988-91. T. & A. Poyser
“Birds of Wiltshire” – Ferguson-Lees, I.J. et al. 2007 : Birds of Wiltshire, published by the tetrad atlas group of the Wiltshire Ornithological Society after mapping fieldwork 1995-2000. Wiltshire Ornithological Society.
“Bird Atlas 2007-2011” – Balmer, D.E., Gillings, S., Caffrey, B.J., Swann, R.L., Downie, I.S. and Fuller, R.J. 2013: Bird Atlas 2007-2011: the Breeding and Wintering Birds of Britain and Ireland
“WTA2” – ("Wiltshire Tetrad Atlas 2 ") the present electronic publication, bringing together the Wiltshire data from “Birds of Wiltshire” and “Bird Atlas 2007-11”, together with data from further fieldwork carried out in 2011 and 2012.
"Hobby" - the annual bird report of the Wiltshire Ornithological Society.