141 THE SMALLER BRITISE RIRDS. 



the markings are thickest at the larger end. When the young are 

 hatched they are fed with wonderful frequency by the parents; Mr. 

 D. Weir, who went to the trouble of watching a nest during a whole 

 day, states that he saw the old birds bring food to them no less than 

 five hundred and thirty-seven times. After they have quitted the nest 

 they are still fed by their parents, and may sometimes be seen perched 

 in a row on a branch or fence, while the old ones procure thorn flies. 

 These birds are remarkable for their habit of returning to the same 

 spot year after year; a pair have been known to build their nest in 

 an old wall no less than eight years in succession. 



The Spotted Flycatcher is not a gifted songster, indeed in this 

 respect he is not to be compared with his pied relation last described, 

 as his only note is a weak and rather mournful kind of_ chirp. 



In plumage this bird is extremely plain and unattractive. The 

 adult male, which is a little over five and a half inches in length, 

 has the bill dark brown; the irides hazel; the legs, toes, and claws 

 black. The head is bi-own, with a few darker spots on the crown; 

 the whole upper surface of the body, and the wing coverts, of the 

 same colour, except that the quill and tail feathers are a little darker. 

 The under parts are dull white, with the throat and breast spotted 

 and streaked with brown. The female is a little smaller, but other- 

 wise can scarcely be distinguished from the male. The young, when 

 fully fledged, have each brown feather tipped with buS", so that they 

 present a very spotted appearance. 



To the wide distribution of this species, its abundance, and familiar 

 habits, may be attributed the large number of popular names which 

 have been given it — Beam Bird, Cobweb Bird, Bee Bird, Cherry 

 Chopper, Post Bird, Cherry Sucker, Chanchider, and Eafter. 



THE SWIFT, 



{^Hinmdo apus.') 

 PLATE IX. — FIGUEE III. 



This species is common in all parts of the British Isles during the 

 summer months; it is believed to migrate hither from the continent 

 of Africa, where it is very abundant. It generally arrives early in 

 May, a little after the Common Swallow and the Martin, and departs 



