THE BIRDS OF CUMBERLAND. 35 



1829 that the species had only nested in the CarHsle 

 district for five or six years, and it is within our 

 personal cognizance that the Pied Flycatcher has 

 become fairly established in districts to which it was 

 formerly an extremely irregular visitant. During 

 migration, odd birds are seen at a distance from 

 their favourite breeding stations. Thus, on one 

 occasion, a single male was seen by Mr. R. Mann at 

 Aiglegill, in the immediate neighbourhood of the 

 Solway. In the present spring, we found a nest 

 completed for eggs on May 5th. Great numbers 

 of Pied Flycatchers appeared on migration at the 

 Isle of May, Pentland Skerries, Flamborough, and 

 Spurn, about the same time, i.e. during the first week 

 of May, 1885. (Migration Report, 1885, p. 186.) 



When visiting the Pied Flycatchers at Lowther 

 Castle, in 1884, we availed ourselves of a kind per- 

 mission to obtain some specimens for the Carlisle 

 Museum ; and finding the species in great abundance, 

 we shot four males and a female, on May 19th, all 

 apparently paired birds, nest building operations 

 having, of course, started some days previously. Mr. 

 John Hancock states (Cat. B. of N. and D., p 79), 

 from an examination of a large series, that the adult 

 male in the breeding season (of which he gives a 

 delightful figure), " is black on the upper parts with 

 a broad obscure band of grey across the rump, and a 

 transverse band of white in front of the head ; the 

 under parts are white, and the white patch on the 

 wing is very conspicuous." 



Of our four breeding males, shot on May 19th, 

 two answer this description, the black being as 



