44 The Black Redstart. 



and I hoped to keep him for man}- years in health : but one night, during his 

 spring change of plumage, he crept into a log-nest and died : I am afraid that, in 

 spite of abundant insect food, the cold of that winter was rather too much for 

 him ; yet he was bright and active to the last day of his life, showing no 

 symptoms of distressed breathing, or an^- other signs of impending dissolution. 



Family— TURDID^. Subfamily— TL 'RDLV.^. 



The Black Redstart. 



Ruficilla (iiys. Scop. 



RESPECTING the geographical distribution of the Black Redstart, Seebohm 

 writes : — " In the south it extends from Portugal through Algeria to 

 Palestine. Northwards its range becomes more restricted, and appareutl}- 

 does not extend east of the valleys of the Dneister and the Vistula or north of 

 Holstein. In autumn stragglers have been known to occur in West Russia, 

 Scandinavia, the north of England, Scotland, and Ireland, the Faroes (on the 

 authority of Captain Feilden), and even, it is said, as far as Iceland. North of 

 the Alps it is for the most part a migrator}^ bird, though a few are known to 

 frequent situations where open water is to be found during the winter. South of 

 the Alps it is found throughout the year, its numbers being increased during 

 winter, its range at that season extending as far south as Nubia." "As the Black 

 Redstart very rarely occurs in Norfolk, and has not been recorded from the 

 Lincolnshire coast, it seems probable that the birds which visit our islands come 

 from Holland, where it is exceedingly common, and follow the coast, choosing the 

 shortest passage across the Channel." 



This is an autumn and winter visitant to our southern coasts, being most 

 commonly met with in Devon and Cornwall; but whether it really remains to 



