30 BIRDS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



incubation. The young are plentiful]}^ spotted with white 

 on the back, and with brown on the breast. 



Spotted Flycatcher. — This is a much more inconspicu- 

 ous bird than the last. The upper surface is brown, with 

 a dull olive tinge, and the under part is whitish grey on the 

 throat and breast, and faintly tawny on the belly ; the 

 vent is greyish white; from the bill to the thighs the surface 

 is thickly dotted with yellowish brown spots. Male and 

 female are alike. The bill is yellowish grey, and is 

 surrounded by many short bristles at its base. The legs 

 and feet are yellowish grey. It is the same size as the 

 last. 



Red-Breasted Flycatcher. — This is a rare summer 

 visitor, and might, at first sight, be mistaken for a small 

 robin ; but it differs from that bird by the whiter colour of 

 its under parts below the tail, by the white bases of the 

 outer tail feathers, and by the absence of the characteristic 

 orange red on the head and face. The wings are dark 

 brown, and the wing coverts and secondaries are outwardly 

 edcjed with greenish brown. The female resembles the 

 male, but is smaller. Length, about 4^ inches. 



All the flycatchers feed entirely on insects, which they 

 capture for the most part on the wing. They are very shy 

 birds, and may exist in a given locality without their 

 presence being suspected, until accidentally seen feeding a 

 newly-flown young one, or flitting silently from tree to tree. 



The nests of all three species are built in holes of trees or 

 buildings, and if the entrance to the cavity is too large to 

 suit the builder, it is plastered up with mud until a con- 

 venient entrance has been contrived. 



The small white eggs are rather numerous, as many as 

 seven and eight having been found in one nest. Incuba- 

 tion lasts thirteen or fourteen days, and the young are fed 

 on minute insects, aphides, and small dipterous flies. 



