in Among the Birds in Wales 63 



notice before I leave these woods and close these 

 notes for the present, which does not need to be 

 watched for like the Wood-wren, but obtrudes 

 himself upon your attention by his bright plumage, 

 his comparatively loud note of warning, and his 

 preference for the lower and barer boughs of the 

 trees. It is not often that we of the midlands have 

 the chance of seeing or hearing a Pied Flycatcher. 

 When he does appear, he is only a passing visitor on 

 his way to the hills, and I have never known him 

 stay with us more than one day. Yet it is well 

 to keep a look-out for him in the valleys of the 

 Thames and its affluents during the latter half of 

 April ; and his plumage is just then so brilliant 

 that it cannot fail to catch the eye. The white of 

 the breast is so pure that in the sunshine it will 

 be distinctly visible at a great distance, and can be 

 distinguished at once from the grayer tint of the same 

 parts in the commoner species. I have on two or 

 three occasions come upon a pair travelling together 

 in Oxfordshire, or rather resting from their travel ; 

 they perch on a railing and spend the day in catching 

 flies with such an air of contentment and savoir faire 

 that you are deluded into fancying that they are 

 going to remain your guests ; but the next day you 

 will look for them in vain. 



It would seem that the flat country is not to the 

 mind of this bird, and he quickly leaves our gardens 



