BRITISH BIRDS, WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



atricapilla which. I received in young plumage in 1887, did not acquire the distinc- 

 tive black ventral band until the second moult ; but a more curious change occurred 

 in the spring of 1896, when one of my old examples of Qnclea quelea assumed the 

 breeding-plumage of Q. russi, the black mask being wholly lost. 



This species appears to be more essentially a forest-haunting bird than our 

 other Flycatchers, breeding in beech-woods, and only visiting gardens in their 

 vicinity. The song is said by Seebohm to be very unobtrusive and intermediate 

 between those of the Robin and Redstart, and he describes the alarm-note as pink, 

 pink, pink, something like the spink of a Chaffinch ; probably Naumann's call-note 

 of this species is the same sound, and he expresses it "fiiid, /t'iid," I therefore 

 have no doubt that the true rendering of the note would be " phwick" or "p/iwit" ; 

 for no Chaffinch ever had a note the least bit like spink or pink, and /, not d, is 

 one of the terminal sounds in bird-notes : Dr. A. Walter, according to Gatke, 

 describes the call as a rattling sound, but doubtless the latter would be a scolding 

 note. 



In its actions the Red-breasted Flycatcher resembles our other species, some- 

 times it pursues its prey in the air, but sometimes it picks them from the trunk 

 of a tree : in addition to insects it also eats small fruits. 



The nest is usually placed in a beech-tree, either in a cavity, in trunk, or 

 branch, or against the trunk, supported by outgrowing twigs ; in form it is a 

 somewhat deep cup, formed of moss, a few fragments of lichen, and a few soft 

 feathers ; the lining of fine bents and hairs. The number of the eggs varies from 

 five to seven, bluish-green, more or less mottled or speckled with rusty-brown, 

 sometime so densely as almost to conceal the ground-colour, and with greyish-brown 

 shell- markings : in character they are intermediate between those of the Spotted 

 Flycatcher and the Robin. 



This bird is said to be almost as pugnacious as a Robin ; therefore it would 

 be well to use caution in associating it with other species in an aviary. As a 

 cage-bird it has been both kept and exhibited in Germany, and if reared from the 

 nest would doubtless be very tame and make a most attractive pet, feeding readily 

 on the usual soft food; Seebohm, however, states that "birds of this species in 

 confinement feed upon the common house-fly with great avidity, preferring it to 

 any artificial food." Doubtless this statement is correct, but it would be quite out 

 of the question to attempt to feed this, or any other bird upon flies alone. 



