THE FLYCATCHERS 



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them from the more typical members of the thrush family. Most abundant in the 

 tropical regions of the Old World, the flycatchers are quite unknown in America. 



The typical flycatchers (Musacapa], of which there are a consid- 



True Fly- erable number of species, with a wide distribution in the Old World, 

 Cci tochers 



have the tail considerably shorter than the wing, the second pri- 



mary equal in length to the fifth, and the wings when closed not reaching beyond 

 the middle of the tail. 



Among the commonest of European summer birds is the spotted or 



? 



p t h 



flycatcher (Muscicapa griseola), which does not, however, reach 



its haunts until later in the spring than the majority of small migrants, 

 not being met with even in Spain until the latter part of April, and being still later 

 in the more northern parts of its habitat. Unlike most English migratory song- 



SPOTTED AND PIED FLYCATCHERS. 

 (Two-thirds natural size.) 



sters, this flycatcher may be met with throughout the summer in the I^ondon parks, 

 although its sombre plumage, and its habit of perching high up on trees, render it 

 far from conspicuous. Variously placed, the nest of this species may be situated 

 on an ivy-clad wall, in the middle of a shrub, or upon wooded rocks overhanging 

 rivers, while it has been found in a hole in a tree, in a flower basket hanging at a 



