42 BRITISH BIRDS, WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



flower pot is chosen : it is usually not far from the ground. The nest itself is 

 externally carelessly constructed of dry grass, rootlets, moss and sometimes a 

 little wool, the interior being carefully lined with hair and feathers : the number 

 of eggs varies from five to eight, though rarely exceeding six; in colour they 

 much resemble those of the Hedge Accentor, but are slightly paler and more 

 glossy. 



Although the Redstart usually builds in holes and under cover, instances 

 have been recorded of its forming its nest in an exposed situation ; thus in the 

 "Zoologist" for 1888, pp. 352-3, Rev. H. A. Macpherson says: 



"In June last, Mr. Bell of Liddle Bank, Dumfriesshire, an enthusiastic field 

 naturalist, was kind enough to ask my friend Mr. Baily and myself to spend a 

 couple of days in bird'snesting with him on the Liddell. I was detained at home, 

 but Mr. Baily went, and on his return reported the find of a Redstart's nest 

 built into an old nest of a Song- Thrush. There was no doubt about the owner- 

 ship of the nest, for the hen bird was seen sitting on the eggs, two of which 

 were taken." 



"The Thrush's nest measures about four inches across, and that of the Red- 

 start two inches and one fifth inside measurement : the former was placed in a 

 thorn bush, and was, therefore, open to the sky, though well concealed by 

 branches above. I have seen a good many Redstarts' nests, but I can only recall 

 one instance in my own experience in which a nest of R. phcenicurus, has been 

 open to the sky. The nest in question was placed in a thick bush, and was 

 surrounded by thickets." 



The song of the Redstart is uttered either on the wing, or when perching ; 

 it is both insignificant and monotonous, somewhat resembling that of the Wren, 

 though much more feeble ; its call-note is wheet-tit-tit and its note of alarm a 

 melancholy wheel : when courting, like some other species, it records its song ; 

 that is to say, it sings it in a whisper, omitting the louder notes. 



As an aviary bird, I have found the Redstart especially pleasing ; it is quite 

 hardy, provided that plenty of insects can be supplied daily, it rapidly becomes 

 very tame and confiding, and is a most ornamental addition to one's feathered 

 family. 



In September, 1893, Mr. Staines brought me a healthy example, which I 

 turned out with the Stonechat and Whinchat into one of my unheated aviaries, 

 disregarding utterly the reputed extreme delicacy of this species. That winter 

 the thermometer on several occasions registered ten or twelve degrees of 

 frost, nevertheless the Redstart was not in the least disturbed by the cold, 

 but seemed quite at home and happy. Kvery morning I put a "Demon 



