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Mr. Hubert D. Astley,



And it is called the House red tail (or redstart) because in mountain¬

ous and hilly districts, this bird often perches on the roof tops.


So now, being quite clear as to the meaning of the word

‘ start,’ as used in connection with redstarts, let me try to describe

how I found a nest of young black redstarts.


I was at Brieg, one of the most picturesque towns in Swit¬

zerland, in tfhe Valais Canton, my principal object being to visit the

great and famous Aletsch glacier in the mountains above. I started

on a glorious day in mid-June, rejoicing as, on reaching higher

altitudes, the air became more and more exhilarating, with that

sparkle in it which one only experiences in the mountains. It was

a long mule ride to the hotel situated close to the glacier, a hotel

which in those days was a very simple affair, clean but sparsely

furnished, and very different to the palatial edifices to be found in

Switzerland nowadays, with French cooks, string bands, etc., and

to my mind decidedly preferable.


The day after my arrival, and the day after that, it simply

poured unceasingly, whilst the mist was up to the windows, but on

the third day I aw r oke to find everything sparkling in brilliant sun¬

shine, and out I rushed! The glacier excited and thrilled me,

looking like a big frozen river, the ice massed in huge boulders with

crevices showing colours of delicate blues and gorgeous greens, into

which if you slipped you would probably say good-bye aud proceed

to admire the beauties of another plane in another life!


It was all very wonderful, but looking back, I know that as I

walked in the afternoon up a mountain path strewn with great

boulders, one of which, hurtling down from above, all but sent me

into the next life, I was still more thrilled at seeing some small

dark coloured birds with chestnut-red tails flitting in front of me.


Black redstarts ! I had never up till then seen one alive, but

there was no mistaking the species. These birds that inhabit spots

at high altitudes have a great charm about them. The solitude, the

beauty of the surroundings, their voices tinkling in the stillness of

the crystal air, all go towards impressing on one their fascination.


There was more than one pair, I certainly saw three, and I

sat down to watch them. One pair was especially restless, flitting

from boulder to boulder and calling ceaselessly. So I, concealing



