288 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Other structure as in M. s. striata, but bill, although shorter, wider 

 at base. 



Soft parts. — Bill black, jDroximal part of lower mandible 

 yellow ; legs and feet black ; iris dark brown. 



Characters. — No subspecies. In general appearance resembling 

 Spotted Flycatcher but much smaller, and with no spots on cro^\^^ 

 and with no distinct streaks on breast. " White circle round eye 

 conspicuous in life." (H. Lynes). 



Breeding-habits. — Nests on horizontal boughs of trees, close 

 to trunk. Nest. — ^A neat, lichen-covered cup. Eggs. — 4 or 5, 

 occasionally 6, light grey-green, sometimes unmarked or washed 

 with light red. Average of 23 eggs, 16.7x12.7 mm. Breeding- 

 season. — From May 10 onward in Japan : June in Siberia. 



Food. — Probably entirely insects, but little information available. 

 Lynes records orthoptera (grasshoppers) and beetles, as well as 

 other winged insects in stomach. 



Distribution. — England. — One. a male, near Lydd (Kent). Maj^ 21, 

 1909 {ut supra) . 



Distribution. — Abroad. — East Siberia, from Lake Baikal to Corea, 

 Japan, also northern parts of China and eastern Himalayas, In 

 winter in India, Ceylon and other islands east to the Greater 

 Sunda Islands and Philippines. 



MUSCICAPA HYPOLEUCA* 



120. Muscicapa hypoleuca hypoleuca (Pall.) — THE PIED 

 FLYCATCHER. 



MoTAciLLA HYPOLEUCA Pallas, ill Vroeg's Cat. Verzam. Vogelen, etc., 



Adumbratiuncula, p. 3 (1764 — Holland). 



Muscicapa luctiiosa MacGillivray, Hist. Brit. B., in, p. 524. 



Muscicapa atricapiUa Linnseus, Yarrell, i, p. 229 ; Saunders, p. 159. 



Description. — Adidt male. — Winter. Fore-head, mantle, scapu- 

 lars and back browai, feathers of fore-head usually with white or 

 creamy bases, but not always ; rump as back, or mixture of black 

 and brown, if black feathers present most with brown tips ; upper 

 tail-coverts black, some of the shorter ones with broA^ai tips ; lores 

 and ear-coverts brown, somewhat mottled black-bro^vn ; feathers 

 round eye pale brown ; chin, throat, breast and flanks pale creamy- 

 buff, many feathers tipped dusky ; centre of belly and under tail- 

 coverts white ; axillaries creamj'-white to cream with dusky 

 bases ; tail black to black-brown, outer pair with whole or most 



* As Linnaeus's name atricapiUa dates from 1766, Pallas's name 

 hypoleuca has priority, and naiist therefore be adopted. — E.H. 



