EEDSTAET. BLACK KEDSTAET. 99 



in action, and peculiarly bright and diversified in colour, 

 tlie redstart at all times delights tlie eye, but never 

 looks more beautiful tlian when, resting awhile, it sits 

 embowered amidst the clustering blossoms on our apple 

 or cherry trees. As a songster it ranks amongst the 

 earliest and latest in the summer months, as I have 

 heard its singular hweet, tit, tit, between two and three 

 o'clock in the morning, and as late as nine and ten at 

 night. 



PHCENICURA TITHYS (Scopoli). 

 BLACK EEDSTAET. 



Until 1848 this rare species had probably not been 

 noticed in this county, but on the 31st of October of 

 that year an adult female was killed near the old battery 

 at Yarmouth, as stated by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, in 

 the " Zoologist," p. 2345 ; and two more were obtained 

 about the first week in November of the following 

 year, as recorded by Mr. Gurney in the same journal 

 (p. 2651). "With the exception of an occasional specimen 

 or two obtained by the late Mr. Thurtell at Lowestoft, 

 in the adjoining county, the above are perhaps the only 

 instances known of the Black Eedstart having visited 

 this district. It is, however, worthy of notice that, 

 both at the time these specimens appeared on our coast 

 in 1849, and also between January and March of the 

 following year, an unusual number of these birds were 

 met with in various parts of England (as noticed at the 

 time in the "Zoologist"), but mostly in the southern 

 counties. It is somewhat remarkable that this species, 

 which, according to Mr. Gould and other authorities, 

 breeds in Belgium, the north of France, and the south 

 of Germany, should be a winter visitant, only, to the 

 British Islands, regularly appearing ia Sussex, Devon, 

 o2 



