36 BLUETHROAT. 



rest themselves after their flight from Scandinavia. Five are 

 recorded from Scotland, one of these from the Monach Island light- 

 house, Outer Hebrides, in October : another Pentland Skerries, 

 Orkney, on May 12th, 1890. Not yet obtained in Ireland. 



The Red-spotted Bluethroat breeds in the northern portions of 

 Scandinavia and Russia, the elevated Pamir region, and Siberia as 

 far as Kamchatka, and has even crossed to Alaska ; migrating to 

 China, India, Arabia and North-eastern Africa. On the spring 

 passage this form does not pass along the west coast of Norway, 

 but enters that country from the east. From Egypt westward the 

 White-spotted Bluethroat appears, and predominates in North- 

 western Africa and South-western Europe ; breeding in France, 

 Belgium, Holland, Germany, Western Russia, and as far south and 

 east as Armenia and Afghanistan. 



The nest, similar to that of the Redbreast, is placed in the side of 

 a hummock among swampy thickets ; the 5-6 eggs, laid about the 

 middle of June, are pale olive with minute rufous spots : measure- 

 ments "75 by "55 in. The food consists of insects — especially 

 mosquitoes — and their larvae, earthworms and small seeds. The 

 song, as heard during the nightless summer of the Arctic regions, 

 is described as rivalling that of the Nightingale in richness, ending 

 with a metallic ting ting. The cock is frequently bold and con- 

 spicuous, while the female skulks among the undergrowth, and is 

 very seldom seen. In its habits the Bluethroat resembles the 

 Redbreast rather than the Redstart. 



Adult male, Arctic form : lores dark brown ; a white stripe above 

 the eye ; upper parts clove-brown ; bright bay tail-coverts and basal 

 part of tail-feathers, except the two central ones, which are dark brown, 

 like the lower half of the tail ; chin, throat and gorget ultramarine- 

 blue, with a large central spot of red bay ; below the blue successive 

 bands of black, white and bay ; remaining under parts buffish-white ; 

 wing-coverts and axillaries golden-buff; bill black; legs and feet 

 brown. Length 5-3 in. ; wings to end of 3rd-4th, and longest 

 primaries, 2-85 in. Female: differs in having the whole of the 

 under parts tawny-white, except a dark brown band across the 

 chest ; but old examples show some blue and bay feathers there. 

 Young : like the female ; the nestling streaked with black, similar to 

 a young Redbreast, but with the base of the tail bay. In autumn 

 the new feathers have grey tips, which are shed by the following 

 spring. 



