42 The Redstart. 



externally carelessly constructed of dry grass, rootlets, moss and sometimes a little 

 wool, the interior being carefully lined with hair and feathers : the number of 

 eggs varies from five to eight, though rarel}'- exceeding six ; in colour the}' much 

 resemble those of the Hedge Accentor, but are slightly paler and more glossy. 



Although the Redstart usually builds in holes and under cover, instances 

 have been recorded of its forming its nest in an exposed situation ; thus in the 

 "Zoologist" for 1888, pp. 352-3, the Rev. H. A. Macpherson says: — 



" In Juuc last, Air. Bell, of Liddell Bank, Dumfriesshire, an enthusiastic field 

 naturalist, was kind enough to ask m}- friend Mr. Bail}- and myself to spend a 

 couple of days in birds' -nesting with him on the Liddell. I was detained at home, 

 but Mr. Baily went, and on his return reported the find of a Redstart's nest 

 built into an old nest of a Song-Thrush. There was no doubt about the owner- 

 ship of the nest, for the hen bird was seen sitting on the eggs, two of which 

 were taken." 



" The Thrush's nest measures about four inches across, and that of the Red- 

 start two inches and one fifth inside measurement : the former was placed in a 

 thorn bush, and was therefore open to the sky, though well concealed b}' 

 branches above. I have seen a good many Redstart's nests, but I can only recall 

 one instance in my own experience in which a nest of R. phccnicurus has been 

 open to the sky. The nest in question was placed in a thick bush, and was 

 surrounded by thickets." 



The song of the Redstart is uttered either on the wing, or when perching ; 

 it is both insignificant and monotonous, somewhat resembling that of the Robin, 

 though much less varied ; its call-note is wheet-tit-tit and its note of alarm a 

 melancholy wheet : when courting, like some other species, it records its song ; 

 that is to say, it sings it in a whisper, omitting the louder notes. 



As an aviary bird, I have found the Redstart especiall}- pleasing ; it is quite 

 hardy, provided that plenty of insects can be supplied daily, it rapidly becomes 

 very tame and confiding, and is a most ornamental addition to one's feathered 

 family. 



In September, 1893, Mr. Staines brought me a healthy example, which I 

 turned out with the Stonechat and Whinchat into one of my unheated aviaries, 

 disregarding utterly the reputed extreme delicacj' of this species. That winter 

 the thermometer on several occasions registered ten or twelve degrees of frost, 

 nevertheless the Redstart was not in the least disturbed by the cold, but seemed 

 quite at home and happy. Every morning I put a " Demon beetle trap " into 

 the aviary, and the Redstart was the first bird to rush in among the evil-smelling 

 captives, seize one and fly oflf with it : no sooner was the first swallowed than he 



