82 BRITISH BIRDS 



the hand that holds the hemp, and then will follow its owner 

 all about the room and even out of doors in pursuit of the 

 dainty it covets, but of which, for the reason already given, 

 it must not have too much. 



THE FLUSHER. See Shrike (Red-backed). 



THE FLYCATCHERS. 



The food of all the Flycatchers consists of small insects, 

 and they must do a great deal of good, seeing the 

 enormous numbers of these that they destroy. 



There is no song, only a little chirp, but the young 

 ones are noisy in their small way. The nest is frequently 

 resorted to for several years in succession. 



The Pied Flycatcher. 



A pretty little bird of common enough occurrence, but 

 owing to its shy and retiring habits not very often seen 

 in this country. 



Its unostentatious colouring is simply black and white, 

 the latter on the forehead, breast and other under parts, 

 the greater wing-coverts and secondaries and the outer 

 tail feathers, but on the abdomen the white is tinged 

 with grey; the remainder of the plumage is black. 



It is a very active bird, and its tail is in almost 

 perpetual motion. The sexes resemble each other, but 

 the young are spotted and speckled with black on the 

 white, and with white on the black parts. 



The nest is made in some convenient hole or crevice 

 of a tree or building; the eggs are white, and seven or even 

 nine in number. The young can be reared on ants' eggs 

 and small insects, but they seldom live long in confinement. 



When searching for food, it is very active, moving 

 rapidly about, jerking and fanning its tail and flapping its 

 wings every second or two, according to the manner of 

 its kind. 



