THE REDSPOTTED-BLUETHROAT 429 



erects its tail, and spreads it fanwise, erects the neck and head, 

 stretching them back till they almost form, with the tail, an arch 

 over the back, and, fixed rigid in this remarkable position, it 

 curtsies, moving the legs only, thus looking like an automatic bird 

 set to work by the insertion of a penny-in-the-slot. 1 If, says Bailly, 

 it happens to hear, when feeding, the call-note of its mate, it will 

 at once pause to mark the direction of the sound, and then set off 

 with its tail fanned and stiffly erect, with a soft responsive "ptui" 2 

 As both the forms seem identical in their habits, it is more than 

 probable that the fanning of the tail and the automatic curtsy 

 enter at times into the displays of the bluethroat. Enough has been 

 said to show that a more detailed comparative study of the displays 

 of the bluethroats and their near allies is likely to prove of consider- 

 able interest. 



In their nesting-site, nest, and eggs, both forms resemble closely 

 the robin. Seebohm states that those of the red-spotted form may 

 be described as "miniature eggs of the redwing," their coloration 

 being greenish -blue spotted with reddish -brown. According to 

 Bailly, the male of the white-spotted form shares in the construction 

 of the nest, and, according to Nauuiann, in incubation also, the 

 latter lasting about a fortnight. 3 The young, when left to their own 

 devices, live each by itself, and may be seen running about " as quick 

 as little rats, holding, like their elders, their tails erect." 4 These 

 statements probably apply equally to the red-spotted form, though 

 it remains to be shown that the participation of the male in nest- 

 making and incubation is to be considered habitual. 



The prejudice of the young against the society of their brothers 

 and sisters, and the pugnacity of the species suggest that the 

 bluethroats are, like the robin, in the habit of passing the autumn 

 and winter each solitary in its own feeding area. But on this no 

 satisfactory evidence is yet available. 



1 E. Ziemer, Ornith. Monatsschrift, xii. p. 298, quoted in Naiimann, Vb'gel Mitteleuropas, i. 

 pp. 40-1. = Bailly, op. cit., pp. 305-6. 



3 Seebohm, i. p. 273 ; Bailly, ii. p. 306 ; Naumann, i. p. 41, op. tit. * Bailly, op. cit., p. 307. 



