5o8 



PASSERIFORMES 



other species the males are said to be maroon, cinnamon, chestnut, 

 blue-grey, or glossy-black above. T. mutata of Madagascar may 

 be dimorphic. Nuchal collars, elongated silky flank-feathers, and 

 spots or stripes below, are not infrequent in the Family. 



Flycatchers are common in the Ethiopian, Indian, and Aus- 

 tralian Regions ; and several species axe Palaearctic, four or five 

 reaching Europe. Most of them are migratory, the Spotted Fly- 

 catcher nesting north- 

 wards to Tromso and 

 Archangel, the Pied Fly- 

 catcher nearly as far. 

 They love wooded dis- 

 tricts, and Gerygonc even 

 gloomy forests ; while they 

 are usually silent and soli- 

 ^'^ ""^J^^ ^'^ISfe*^. tary, feeding on little but 



insects, which are 

 habitually caught 



Fig. 110. 



-Paradise Flycatcher 

 paradisi. x §. 



upon the w4ng with an audible snap of the 

 bill, though also procured upon the boughs 

 or by darting to the ground. The graceful, 

 undulating, or zigzag flight, and the sudden 

 dash into tlie air, followed by a quick 

 return to the perch, are especially charac- 

 teristic, as is a frequent quivering of the 

 wings and tail ; Rhipidura 7notacilloides 

 is Wagtail-like in habits ; while Sisura 

 inquieta, the " Grinder " of Australia, runs along the river-sides, 

 or hovers like a Kestrel, making a grinding sound in the air, 

 whence it descends vertically to secui'e its prey. Other species of 

 BMpidura pick flies off cattle, and rise and fall perpendicularly 

 in the air, opening the fan-shaped tail or tumbling completely over. 

 Malurus runs quickly, or bounds along with rapid hops. Most 

 Flycatchers are tame, but several are pugnacious ; Lanioturdus 

 is stated to be gregarious ; Parisoma creeps about thick bushes ; 



