go OUR BIRD ALLIES. 
The pied flycatcher arrives in this country earlier 
than its spotted relative, and is generally to be seen, 
in the localities which it frequents, by the middle, or 
at latest the end, of April. In its diet and habits 
there is little of a distinctive character, and, indeed, 
were it not for its nesting arrangements, the same 
description would answer almost equally well for 
either bird. 
Both the nest and the eggs of the pied flycatcher, 
however, are totally different from those of the pre- 
ceding species. ‘The former, instead of being placed 
upon a wall, or a beam, or a branch, or in any other 
of the manifold situations which the spotted flycatcher 
occasionally selects, is always built ina hole in a tree, 
and the eggs, which range from four to eight in num- 
ber, are of an uniform pale blue colour, very similar 
to that with which we are so familiar in the case of 
the common hedge-sparrow. The nest is generally 
a somewhat loosely-built structure, composed princi- 
pally of moss, hair, and dried leaves. 
