88 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
and Mr. Gurney says,* “On the 31st of October 
I saw a male Tithys Redstart in a small garden near 
the beach at Minehead, where it remained sitting on 
alow apple tree till driven away by another bird.” 
In the neighbouring county of Devon it is not quite 
so rare a bird, especially on some of the rocks on 
the south coast near Teignmouth, where I have 
occasionally seen it in the months of October and 
November. Most of the occurrences appear to have 
been during the winter half-year, from October to 
March, which is a curious circumstance, as Yarrell 
speaks of it as a common summer visitor to Ger- 
many, France and Switzerland. It has much of the 
lively manners of the Common Redstart, last men- 
tioned; but seems to prefer rocky situations to the 
shrubberies, gardens and hedge-rows generally fre- 
quented by that bird. 
The food of the Black Redstart consists of in- 
sects, which it picks up from the sea-weed, when its 
habitation is near the coast: it also eats other in- 
sects in their various stages, worms, small fruit and 
berries.t 
The nest is said to be placed in clefts in rocks, 
holes in walls, and in the roofs of houses: it is 
formed of grass, and lined with hair.{ 
* The ‘ Zoologist’ for 1867 (Second Series, p. 1018). 
+ Yarrell, vol.i., p. 275. 
Rid.) p26. 
