24 SPOTTED FLYCATCPIER. 



has been known to keep to the nest even when the 

 bush has been shaken hard. The nest is generally 

 placed on the ground, but sometimes just off it, either 

 at the base of some furze bush, or in the heather, or 

 sometimes in the hedge. It is large and rather shallow, 

 made of grasses and roots, and lined with moss, hair, 

 and feathers. The eggs, from five to seven, are a pale 

 greenish blue colour, freckled with brown, with often a 

 zone of the same colour round the larger end. They 

 can be easily distinguished from those of the Whin- 

 chat, as they are much less blue, and the markings 

 are closer throughout. 



SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 



MUSCICAPA GRISOLA. 

 Family Passerid.^. Sub-family Turdin^. Genus Musci- 



CAPA. 



Bee Bird— Wall Bird— Cherry Chopper— Post Bird- 

 Rafter Bird. 



The spotted Flycatcher is a common bird all over 

 England while it is with us, but it only visits us to 

 breed. It is one of the last birds to arrive, its visit ex- 

 tending from May to September. In Scotland and Ire- 

 land it is not so common. As its name implies it feeds 

 on insects, which it catches on the wing. It watches 

 for them, sitting on some branch or post, and with a 

 sudden spring takes them as it flies, and immediately 

 returns to its station to w^atch for more. Its song is 

 very seldom heard ; and when it does sing it is so low, 

 that it can only be heard a few yards off. 



This little bird is remarkable for the various sites 

 it chooses in building its nest. One of the favourite 



