Warblers. 81 



Europe, but rarely visits England. The chin, throat, 

 and breast are of a brilliant blue, with a white spot in 

 the centre, which becomes red as the bird grows old. 

 A black stripe runs below the blue breast, then a narrow 

 streak of white, and a broad band of ruddy chestnut 

 fading into dingy white. The upper part of the body 

 and the wings are a rich brown, which extends to the 

 two centre feathers of the tail ; the rest of the tail- 

 feathers are red, bordered with black. Its song is very 

 pleasing, and continued from morning to night. It 

 becomes very tame in confinement, and may be kept 

 either in an aviary or in a Nightingale's cage, which 

 must be roomy, as it is very apt to dirty and destroy 

 its beautiful plumage. It soon loses its tail-feathers, 

 and its blue breast generally becomes grey after its 

 first moulting in captivity. It is a greedy bird, and not 

 very cleanly. The Nightingale's food will suit it best, 

 and this must be varied with mealworms and elder- 

 berries. It requires plenty of water for drinking and 

 bathing. 



The female is paler in plumage than the male. All 

 these Redstarts belong to a sub-family of the Warblers, 

 the Erythacinse, or Robins, of which the most familiar 

 example is 



The REDBREAST (Erythacus rubeculd). This byrd is 

 known throughout Europe, in Asia Minor, and North 

 Africa. It remains in England the whole year, though 

 ft is migratory in some parts of Europe, and seems to 



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