SPOTTED FLYCATCHER 479 



of the typical Asiatic representatives of its genus. In winter a large 

 number of hedge-sparrows perform a migration of greater or smaller 

 length, some resorting to the Mediterranean countries, and others 

 passing through Palestine to visit Arabia. 



To dilate on the habits of this bird, which is as well known in our 

 gardens as the redbreast, would surely be superfluous. It will suffice 

 therefore to state that the species subsists entirely on insects and other 

 invertebrate creatures ; and that the nest, which is usually built in a 

 hedge or shrub, and is constructed mainly of moss, contains at the 

 proper season a clutch of from four to six of the well-known blue eggs. 

 It may be added that the hedge-sparrow is one of the few British birds 

 which sing throughout the winter months. 



The Alpine hedge-sparrow (^Accentor alpinus), which belongs to 

 the typical group of the genus, characterised by the long and pointed 

 wings, is too rare a straggler to our islands to claim a definite place 

 in the British list. It is a native of the mountain ranges of central 

 and southern Europe and south-eastern Asia. As regards its char- 

 acteristics, it will perhaps suffice to state that the bird is about an inch 

 longer than the hedge-sparrow, that is, 6|^ inches in length ; and that 

 while the general tone of the plumage is of the hedge-sparrow type, 

 there is a large admixture of white, notably on the cheeks and throat, 

 where it forms a large patch marked with numerous black spots ; this 

 patch, coupled with the scaling of the front of the leg, affording ample 

 means of identifying the species. 



Fifteen instances of the occurrence of this species in Great Britain 

 were recorded during the nineteenth century, most of these having 

 taken place in the southern counties of England, although one relates 

 to Snowdon. In three cases two birds were seen in company. 

 Another specimen was shot in Cornwall in November 1906. It may 

 be added that the species is sometimes called Accentor collaris, in 

 allusion to the black-spotted white throat-patch. 



_ *^ J pi ^ y, The flycatchers, forming the family Muscicapidae, 



,„ . have been regarded as intimately connected with 



(Museieapa ,,,.,, r , , 



, . the thrush tribe by means of the chats and redstarts. 



griseola). ^ 



This presumed relationship is exhibited by the fact 



that young flycatchers are more or less fully spotted, and also by the 



presence of numerous and strongly developed bristles at the gape of 



the beak in both the young and the adults. On the other hand, 



flycatchers are peculiar in possessing a number of hairs growing from 



the forehead, and extending over the nostrils, which they more or less 



