214 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



from those of the Common Redstart. It frequents cliffs and 

 rocky ground, but I have seen it in Holyhead, flitting like a 

 Hedge-Sparrow amongst the cabbages in a back garden, 

 perching on walls, clothes-stumps and the edge of a bucket. 

 In Devon I have watched it along the cliffs, clinging to the 

 rocks, and launching out to catch passing insects or occasionally- 

 descending to the shore to hunt in the tide-wrack for flies or 

 small crustaceans. Its quick ducks of head and body, accom- 

 panied by a flick of the wings, were Robin-like, and its tail was 

 ever jerking upwards and quivering. The only note I heard 

 was an occasional /zV, but when alarmed it will tick like a 

 Robin. Mr. R. W. Jones heard one bird, perched on the back 

 of a seat on the promenade at Llandudno, sing a simple song, 

 " a variety of harsh unmusical notes, ending with six or seven 

 very sweet ones." 



The adult male in spring has the forehead, lores, cheeks and 

 breast black, the crown, nape and back dark slate-grey. The 

 dark-brown wings have a conspicuous white patch on the 

 secondaries. The lower breast is black with grey bars and 

 the belly grey. The bill and legs are black, the irides brown. 

 After the autumn moult grey margins obscure the black, but 

 these rapidly wear off and good plumage is often acquired by 

 December. In young males the full plumage is not attained 

 until after the second autumn moult — the white patch is incon- 

 spicuous and the under parts are smoky grey ; indeed I have 

 seen males in which no white was visible on the secondaries. 

 The female is brown, though much greyer than the hen 

 Common Redstart ; the grey underwing is, however, a safe 

 distinction. Length, 575 ins. Wing, 3*4 ins. Tarsus, '9 in. 



Redbreast. Erithacus ruheaUa (Linn,). 



Throughout its European and western Asiatic range the 

 Redbreast varies in colour, and several forms have been 



