32 THE BIRDS OF CUMBERLAND. 



along the Gelt, Irthing, and other rivers, a con- 

 siderable colony nesting on the eastern fells near 

 Renwick, while stragglers nest intermittently in 

 other localities, as near Alston. 



In the Carlisle district, as elsewhere, the Pied 

 Flycatcher prefers to nest in the neighbourhood of 

 water, but the choice of locality varies. A nest 

 which Mr. W. G. Smith lately found in a small 

 wood near Upperby, was placed in the hole of a 

 tree, and contained three eggs of the Pied l^ly- 

 catcher. " The nest was made of dried grass and 

 roots, lined with hair. After I took the three eafgrs 

 someone pulled the nest out, and the bird laid a 

 fourth egg on the bottom of the decayed wood." 



In the year 1877, we had an opportunity of 

 studying the habits of a Pied Flycatcher from the 

 date of their arrival on May 7th until incubation 

 started at the end of the first week in June. The 

 locality was a narrow wooded valley, watered by a 

 tributary of the Eden, which has its source among 

 the Pennine fells. On May 8th, the day after their 

 arrival, the Pied Flycatchers had mated, and had 

 dispersed themselves at varying intervals along the 

 wooded banks of the beck. 



The number of birds in the flock, when first 

 observed, was twenty-six. On the morning of the 

 8th we came across three pairs which had already 

 selected nesting holes, and the males were amusingly 

 fussy, popping in and out of the nests twenty times 

 within a quarter of an hour. On the 13th we 

 watched the females carrying materials to their 

 nesting holes, which in this locality were placed at 



