REDSTART. BLACK REDSTART. II 



Genus— RUTICILLA. 



RUTICILLA PHCENICURUS— Redstart, Firetail, 

 OR Fire-Brantail. 



The " Brantail," or " Fire Brantail," as it is called in Hereford- 

 shire, is a regular summer visitant, fond of the orchards surrounding 

 the back buildings of the farmstead, in whose walls its nest is 

 generally to be found. It is widely distributed throughout the 

 county. The male bird, perhaps the most beautiful of all the birds 

 of passage, frequently directs attention to the nest, by his tiresome 

 note of complaint and alarm, when anyone approaches near it. 

 Perched upon some post, or dead branch, it perseveres in one 

 unceasing clamour, until the object of its fear is removed. " How 

 often," moralises Mr. Evans, " would folly and ignorance pass 

 unnoticed, were it not for the noise " (p. 236). 



The Redstart is an insect feeder, and the number of grubs and 

 caterpillars they will destroy in a day, when feeding their young, has 

 been calculated at many hundreds. 



RUTICILLA TITYS— Black Redstart. 



A rare visitant to this county. A freshly killed specimen was 

 brought to a bird-stuffer in Hereford in 1879; and the keeper at 

 Lye Pole, near Aymestrey, killed one in 1878 at Kinsham. 



[Genus — Cyanecula.] 



[Cyanecula wolfi — White-spotted Bluethroat] 



London, 1845 ; Isle of Wight and Scarborough, 1876. 



