Fieldfare

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Fieldfare, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Red listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	Yes
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WCA(I,IV), WBD(II*), Bern(III), Bonn(II)

The Fieldfare is predominantly a winter visitor to the UK from Fennoscandia and the numbers breeding in the UK are tiny in comparison. There has been a strong decrease in breeding numbers over the 25 years to 2019 and just a handful of breeding records have been reported to the RBBP in recent years,with a mean of just one breeding pair over the five-year period 2015–2019 (Eaton et al. 2021).

UK breeding population

No population change in UK (1995–2022)

Fieldfares are widely distributed in winter, with the exception of major urban areas and the highest ground in northern Scotland and in northwest Ireland. They shows a preference for low-lying land, where they feed in open farmland, hedgerows and woodland, only moving into gardens during harsh winter weather. The highest concentrations are found in southeast and central England. Outside winter, Fieldfares are a very rare breeder, with confirmed breeding during 2008–11 recorded in just four locations, three in Scotland and one in northern England.

Winter range has changed little. The breeding range appears to have shrunk but this may be an artefact of many previous Fieldfare records being assigned breeding evidence when in fact they were late-departing winter migrants.

Fieldfare is largely a winter visitor, arriving from continental breeding grounds in October and remaining into late winter and early spring. The tiny breeding population is rarely encountered on complete lists and does not appear here.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	14 years 8 months 24 days (set in 2010)
Typical Lifespan	2 years with breeding typically at 1 year
Adult Survival	0.41
Juvenile Survival	0.31 (in first year)

Wing Length	Adults	148.2±4.2 | Range 142–155mm, N=5122
	Juveniles	147.1±4.1 | Range 141-153mm, N=2216
	Males	150.2±3.7 | Range 144–156mm, N=2259
	Females	146.6±3.9 | Range 140–153mm, N=2696

Body Weight	Adults	109±10.7 | Range 92.0–127g, N=4394
	Juveniles	108±10.5 | Range 89.6–124g, N=1830
	Males	111±10.4 | Range 94.0–127g, N=1920
	Females	108±10.6 | Range 91.0–125g, N=2343

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	C
Field Codes	2-letter: FF | 5-letter code: FIELD | Euring: 11980

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

Reasons for the decline in numbers of breeding Fieldfare in the UK are not known.