234 THE SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER. 



the wall must inevitably have destroyed the young had not the parent birds 

 hovered over the nest all the hotter hours, while, with wings expanded and 

 mouths gaping for breath, they screened off the heat from their suffering 

 offspring." 



I have got their nests and eggs in the orchards at the south 

 side of the city, on the wall trees, 3 feet and 4 feet from the 

 ground; but they are not common here, and not easily 

 distinguished from several other small birds ; hence are 

 unobserved unless purposely watched. On the 1st of July 

 1878, when lying on the grass under the shade of the trees at 

 Gilston, nine miles from St Andrews, where I was carrying on 

 some joiner work, I saw a spotted fly-catcher repeatedly flying 

 from and alighting on a twig of a beech tree busy catching flies. 

 I lay and watched it for half an hour. It chased a small 

 butterfly several times before it caught it, wheeling and chasing 

 like a hawk after a bird. It was very active ; caught its prey, 

 and returned with it to its perch. Being interested, I stepped 

 over to the place, and on looking up I observed some speckled 

 objects about 8 feet up on the branch of a large beech tree. 

 I went close, and peering up saw five young birds huddled 

 together on the outside of their nest, which was built above 

 the stump of a cut branch. The tree was close to the cart 

 road, where the masons were working in a shed, and carts with 

 stones, lime, &c, passing constantly. While watching them, 

 two apprentices came up in the plumber's cart, and, without 

 seeing me, pointed up to the nest, then backed the cart to the 

 tree. One of them stood up in the cart and caught one of the 

 birds. Stepping forward, I asked if he was going to harry 

 them 1 He said, " Aye, for they were queer birds, and nane o' 

 the masons who found oot the nest a while syne kent what kind 

 they were, as they had never seen any birds like them — being 

 greyish-brown on the back like a robin, but thinner, and 

 without the red breast." I told him they were fly-catchers, 

 and of no use for singing, and asked him to leave them alone. 

 On putting back the young birds at my request three of the 

 rest flew off and alighted amongst the leaves of another large 

 beech tree close by. He then threw the one he held after 

 them, which also reached the three, and then took the 

 remaining one (the most unfledged of the lot) and threw it up 

 also ; but though it reached the tree, it fell down again. He 

 took out the nest, which was composed of moss outside, very 

 like the colour of the trunk of the tree on which it was built in 

 the " breek." It was lap-sided, as the trunk formed the side \ 



