J II riijJils rrsm-ed. TfFAKMnKr., 1913. 



BIRD NOTES: 



THE 



JOURNAL OF THE FOREIGN BIRD CLUB 



The Red-breasted Flycatcher. 



(Muscicapa parva). 

 Ih A\i.;sr,KY T. Page, F.Z.S., etc. 



'I'lic coloiircil |)l;il(\ ai'oiiiKl which thcso notes arr" 

 writU'ii, is a \voi-th>' wind n.p to another \'oliune of the Club 

 Journal and as I'e.^ards tho lurds is l)eyond ei'itieisni; in fact, 

 the only point open to remai'k i-; that there is a little too much 

 (lower in the liack.^-rovind for a beautiful, but, not gorgeously 

 ai)p'arelk'd l;ird; howevei-, the ])late is a credit both to ar-tist 

 and lithographer. 



All Flycatchers, Robins, Redstarts, and their near rela- 

 tives make most interesting cage and aviary pets, all have the 

 mannerisms of our familiar Redbreast; attributes which endear 

 him alike to the dweller in town or country, and qualities, the 

 feath(M'ed j)o>sesso-^s of which may be sure of a welcome any- 

 whei'c; for this reason the subject of these notes will always- 

 receive more than pas-ing notice from the keepers of soft- bills 

 —moreover he possesses the additional attraction of being an 

 occasional visitor to tb(> l^itish Tsles, for he has been taken at 

 Scarborough; Scilly Is.; P.erwick-on-Tweed; Norfolk; North 

 Uist Light, Scotland, and from several lights off the coast 

 of Ireland. 



The specie ^ is quite a wanderer, for it has been taken 

 in Holland. Denmark, and Sweden; is an occasional visitor to 

 Southern France and S.W. Spain; it is common but local 

 in centi-al Europe generally during the summer months. It is 

 only a migrant to Italy, Mediterranean Is., and Southern 

 Europe— it breeds in N.E. Germany, S. Russia, Caucasus, N. 

 Persia, and also very probably in Turkestan and Siberia. In 

 winter it ranges over N.W. India and N. Africa. 



Howard Saunders states in his "Manual of British 

 Birds'" regarding its habits : — 



"The Red-breasted Flycatcher arrives in Northern Germany 

 "in May (generally leaving early in September); and it appears 



