100 Pictures of Bird Life 



abundance of beetle wing-eases. Tliese are generally eauglit 

 by the bird pouncing down on tlieni on tlie ground. During 

 haymaking operations it is keenly ()bscr\'ant of insects dis- 

 turbed by the machines, swooping down on wliatex er it 

 may see and carrying it to the young, wliicli are fed long 

 after tlicy ]ia\e left the nest. All the Shrikes have a 

 curious and characteristic habit of mo\ing the tail round 

 and round in a circular fashion, cjuite unlike the usual up- 

 and-doM'u motion in vogue with most birds. 



Every garden of any size round London contains a pair 

 or more of Spotted Flycatchers. These, from the vantage- 

 point of croquet-hoop, dahlia-stick, or teimis-net. spend the 

 whole long summer's day in catcliing Hies. Here tliey sit 

 on tlie watcli. repeatedly flying off to catcli passing insects 

 with an audible snap of tlie beak, returning generally to the 

 same place to wait for another. The Sj^otted Flycatcher 

 is one of the latest to arrive of the summer migrants, and 

 one of the most silent. It appears to have no song, but 

 often utters its short, shrill note. 



Three species of Hirundines are found, but the Sand- 

 martin only in small numbers. For some time the nearest 

 colony of these birds I coidd find Mas at Broxbourne. but 

 in a gravel-pit near the I^ondon Koad there are a few biu'rows 

 which the men working there declare to \vd\e been used this 

 summer. Numbers can be seen at the end of sununer passing 

 along southwards and hawking o^ er the Xew Kiver. and the 

 pools at the sewage-farm are frequented by innnense numbers 

 just before their final departure. 



