THE FLYCATCHERS 



[ORDER: rdxseriformt*. FAMILY: 



PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[F. C. R. JOURDAIN. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON. E. L. TURNER] 



S PO TTED-FLYCATCHER [Mtucicapa striaia (Pallas). Muscicapa 

 yrisola, Limueus. Beam-, wall-, post-, rafter-, or bee-bird, wall-robin, wall- 

 chat, cherry-sucker. French, gobe-mourhe gris ; German, graver Fliegenfdnger 

 or Flirgfiwchnapptr ; Italian, pigliamosche], 



1. Description. The spotted - flycatcher may be distinguished by the 

 ashy brown colour of the upper parts, marled by striations on the crown and fore- 

 breast. The sexes are alike. (PI. 70.) Length 6*8 in. (147 mm.). The upper parts 

 are of an almost uniform ashy brown colour, paler on the head and rump, the former 

 marked by dark brown striations. The wing-coverts are of the same general hue 

 as the back, but the median and major coverts, like the secondaries, are margined 

 with white. The under parts are white, tinged on the breast and flanks with 

 isabelline white ; the sides of the neck and fore-breast are relieved by more or less 

 conspicuous striations of dark brown; the flanks are also, but very obscurely, 

 striated. The juvenile plumage differs conspicuously from that of the adult in 

 that the upper parts are mottled with white on the crown and buff on the back, 

 while the under parts are white, dusky margins to the feathers giving a scale-like 

 effect. Further, the wing and tail-coverts and the secondaries are tipped with buff. 

 They may be distinguished from the young of the pied-flycatcher by the larger size 

 of the spots on the back, and the absence of the white wing-patch. 



2. Distribution. During the summer months this species is distributed 

 throughout Europe, except in the extreme north of Scandinavia and north of Arch- 

 angel in Russia, Southward its breeding range extends to lat. 31 in Morocco and 

 the district north of the Atlas range in Algeria and Tunisia, Coreican breeding 

 birds have been recently described as sub-specifically distinct, and a somewhat paler 



Ml 



