96 THE REDSTART. 



the summer only, coming about the middle of April and 

 leaving in October. It is about five inches and three- 

 quarters in length ; and in form, colour, and habits, closely 

 resembles the Wheatear ; the grey of the back has a deeper 

 tint than on that bird, and the black which covers the 

 cheeks extends also over the throat ; the rump, too, is not 

 white, but orange red, like the tail. The nest of this bird 

 is generally placed in a hole, or cavity in a wall, or in the 

 chink of a rock, or among stones, sometimes in a hollow 

 tree ; it is composed of fibrous roots and moss, and is plen- 

 tifully lined with hair and feathers. The eggs are six or 

 seven in number, of a light greenish blue colour, very like 

 those of the Hedge Sparrow, being of the same form, but 

 considerably smaller, averaging nine-twelfths of an inch in 

 length. By Macgillivray this bird is called the White-fronted 

 Eedstart, also the Redtail and Firetail, terms frequently ap- 

 plied to it in country districts. Mudie terms it the Red 

 Warbler, and gives the following account of its habits : 



The bird is both familiar and shy: familiar as to its general 

 haunting place, for it visits gardens and courts, and even the close 

 vicinity of towns, and the squares and less-frequented streets. But 

 it is continually hopping about, so that it is not easily got sight of; 

 and that has led to the supposition that it is not so generally dif- 

 fused as it really is. The ' blink ' of reddish orange displayed by 

 the flirt of the tail, even when there is not time to notice the 

 peculiar motion of that organ, is, however, sufficient to distinguish 

 it from every other bird. 



Its song is sweet, though plaintive, and has some resemblance to 

 that of the Nightingale, only very inferior in compass and power, 

 and audible only at a short distance. The song is uttered from the 

 perch, on a ruin, a tall post, the trunk of a blasted tree, or some 

 other situation from which it can see around it ; and one who has 

 neard the plaintive strain of the Redstart from the top of a ruined 

 abbey or crumbling fortalice, would be inclined to call it the bird of 

 decay, rather than the ' Wall Nightingale,' as Buffon did. It is not 

 a Nightingale at all, even in time, for it usually begins its song about 

 the time when that of the Nightingale ceases. Early morn is its 

 favourite time, but not till the dawn has made considerable advances. 

 When the males arrive, they sing from elevated perches ; but after 

 the operations of nesting are begun, they sing lower, and always 

 within a short distance of the nest. Among other birds, his song is 

 not always easily detected, for he is partially an imitator of other 

 birds. The flirting of the tail is accompanied by a very short and 

 plaintive chirp. From the habit which both birds have of hopping 



