When in Guernsey in November, 1871, I did not see either Redwings or
Fieldfares till a few days after my arrival on the 1st; after that both
species were numerous, and a few days later plenty of them might be seen
hanging up in the market with the Thrushes and Blackbirds, but for the
first few days there were none to be seen there. Probably this was
rather a late year, as neither bird could have arrived in any numbers
till the first week in November, and in all probability not till towards
the end of the week.


26. BLACKBIRD. _Turdus merula_, Linnaeus. French, "Merle noir."--- The
Blackbird is a common and numerous resident in all the Islands in the
Bailiwick of Guernsey. The Guernsey gardeners, like their brethren in
England, make a great fuss about the mischief done by Blackbirds in the
gardens, and no doubt Blackbirds, like the Golden Orioles, are "grand
gobeurs" of many kinds of fruit; but the gardeners should remember that
they are equally "grand gobeurs" of many kinds of insects as well, many
of the most mischievous insects to the garden, including wasps (I have
myself several times found wasps in the stomach of the blackbird)
forming a considerable portion of their food, the young also being
almost entirely fed upon worms, caterpillars, and grubs; and when we
remember that it is only for a short time of the year that the Blackbird
can feed on fruit, which in most cases can be protected by a little
care, and that during the whole of the other portion of the year it
feeds on insects which would do more damage in the garden than itself,
it will be apparent that the gardener has really no substantial ground
of complaint.

As in England, variations in the plumage of the Blackbird are not
uncommon. I have one Guernsey specimen of a uniform fawn colour, and