330 BRITISH BIRDS. 
quently be seen hovering, in butterfly-like flight, in the air. Sometimes it 
sits quietly on some decayed limb, ever and anon uttering its call-notes 
and incessantly jerking its tail and half opening its wings, as though 
anxious to sally into the air. Its food consists almost entirely of insects, 
especially of flies and gnats, which it often takes from the leaves of the 
forest-trees whilst hovering daintily above them. It is also said to feed 
on various kinds of berries, such as raspberries, currants, elderberries, &c., 
and also on worms. Its visits to the fruit-trees, however, are most likely 
principally for the purpose of catching insects, and not exclusively to feed 
upon the fruit. 
The song of the Pied Flycatcher is a very pleasing one, short and some- 
what feeble, something like the Redstart’s, yet uttered pretty frequently, 
especially in the early part of its sojourn in our islands, during the pairing- 
season, 
The Pied Flyeatcher’s nest is always placed in a covered site, which 
varies but little in its situation. It is built in the holes of birch and 
other trees, sometimes in a deserted Woodpecker’s hole, or crevice of a 
wall or rock, at various heights from the ground, sometimes but a few 
feet, at others far up the trunks. In these holes a slight nest is formed of 
dry grasses, dead leaves, moss, and feathers, sometimes a little wool from 
the sheep on the neighbouring hills, or a few horse and cow’s hairs. 
Few of our British eggs are more beautiful in colour than those of the 
Pied Flycatcher. They are a delicate pale blue, sometimes almost ap- 
proaching white, perfectly spotless, somewhat frail in texture, and slightly 
smaller than those of the Hedge-Accentor. In number they vary from 
five to eight, the latter number, however, being somewhat exceptional ; and 
but one brood is, as a rule, reared in the year. The eggs vary in length 
from ‘8 to ‘65 inch, and in breadth from °58 to *52 inch. 
Dixon once found a beautiful nest of this bird near the moorlands a 
few miles from Sheffield, his attention being attracted to the place by 
seeing the bird hovering before the nesting-hole. It was built in a large 
rotten stump of a birch, the wood of which crumbled away easily and 
revealed the nest, which contained eight pale-blue eggs, almost ready for 
hatching. Since this nest was disturbed, the bird has not, to his know- 
ledge, bred there. 
The general colour of the upper parts and tail of the Pied Flycatcher is 
black, duller and greyer on the rump; wings brown, with the central 
coverts white and the innermost secondaries broadly edged with white. 
A small patch of white on the forehead at the base of the bill; underparts 
pure white. Beak black; irides dark brown; legs, toes, and claws black. 
In the female the black is replaced by brown, and the whole plumage is 
dingy. Males of the year resemble the adult female, but are slightly 
darker. Young birds in nestling-plumage are spotted above with buff, 
