TURDIN.^?.. 



31 



THE REDSTART. 



RuTiciLLA PHa<:NicuRUS (Linnaeus). 



The date of the arrival of the Redstart is to some extent in- 

 fluenced by the prevailing temperature in the early spring ; but as 

 a rule the males, which precede the females by several days, attract 

 our attention by their conspicuous plumage about the middle of 

 April, as they flit, with lateral movements of the tail, from one 

 low branch to another, along the skirts of woodlands. Although 

 generally diffused throughout Great Britain, especially in the south, 

 the Redstart is often unaccountably partial in its distribution, being 

 uncommon to the west of Exeter ; a rare breeder in Cornwall ; and 

 only an autumnal visitor to the Scilly Islands. In Wales it is common 

 as far as Breconshire. In Scotland, where, although not rare it 

 is local, it has of late years spread northwards, and it is now 

 found breeding in Sutherland and Caithness : but it seldom visits 

 the Orkneys or th<; Shetlands, and in the Hebrides it is as yet un- 

 recorded. In Ireland, only two or three occurrences are known. 



On the Continent the Redstart is found in summer from the 

 North Cape to the wooded regions of Central, and even Southern 

 Europe, although better known in the latter on its spring and 

 autumn migrations. Eastward it stretches in summer as far as the 

 valley of the Yenesei ; its winter migrations extending to North 



