108 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



of that family with those of the Redbreast, though 

 it is naturally of a much more timid disposition than 

 the last-named bird or our commonest English repre- 

 sentative of the Flycatchers. I think that two broods 

 are generally reared by these birds, as I often see 

 young birds in August which cannot have left the 

 nest long. The editor of the fourth edition of 

 Yarrell's ' British Birds ' tells us that the second 

 syllable of this bird's common name is derived from 

 the Anglo-Saxon steort, a tail. I mention this as, 

 till I read the article " Redstart " in the work just 

 quoted, I had often puzzled over the meaning of this 

 word, and I imagine that many of my readers may 

 be in the same predicament. The eggs of this bird 

 are generally six in number, and, from their paler 

 shade of greenish blue, can, I think, hardly be mis- 

 taken for those of the Hedge-Sparrow, as, besides 

 the slight difference in shade, they are considerably 

 smaller than those of that species. To the finder of 

 the nest, of course the situation is a sufficient indica- 

 tion of the species, as I never yet knew of an instance 

 of the Hedge-Sparrow nesting in any situation 

 which the Redstart would select, and I think I am 

 authorized in stating that the converse holds equally 

 good. 



39. BLACK REDSTART. 



Ruticilla titys. 



The Rev. H. H. Slater was good enough to inform 

 me privately of the only occurrence of this species in 

 Northamptonshire that has come to my knowledge ; 

 and has recorded it in the ' Zoologist ' in the fol- 

 lowing words : " A bird of this species, apparently 

 an adult female, was haunting the steeple of this 



