144 THE SMALLER BRITISH HIItDS. 



the markings are thickest at the larger end. When the young are 

 hatched they are fed with wonderful frequency by the parents; Mr. 

 D. Weir, who went to the trouble of watching a nest during a whole 

 day, states that he saw the old birds bring food to them no less than 

 five hundred and thirty-seven times. After they have quitted the nest 

 they are still fed by their parents, and may sometimes be seen perched 

 in a row on a branch or fence, while the old ones procure them flies. 

 These birds are remarkable for their habit of returning to the same 

 spot year after year; a pair have been known to build their nest in 

 an old wall no less than eight years in succession. 



The Spotted Flycatcher is not a gifted songster, indeed in this 

 respect he is not to be compared with his pied relation last described, 

 as his only note is a weak and rather mournful kind of chirp. 



In plumage this bird is extremely plain and unattractive. The 

 adult male, which is a little over five and a half inches in length, 

 has the bill dark brown; the irides hazel; the legs, toes, and claws 

 black. The head is brown, with a few darker spots on the crown; 

 the whole upper surface of the body, and the wing coverts, of the 

 same colour, except that the quill and tail feathers are a little darker. 

 The under parts are dull white> with the throat and breast spotted 

 and streaked with brown. The female is a little smaller, but other- 

 wise can scarcely be distinguished from the male. The young, when 

 fully fledged, have each brown feather tipped with buff, so that they 

 present a very spotted appearance. 



To the wide distribution of this species, its abundance, and familiar 

 habits, may be attributed the large number of popular names which 

 have been given it Beam Bird, Cobweb Bird, Bee Bird, Cherry 

 Chopper, Post Bird, Cherry Sucker, Chanchider, and Rafter. 



THE SWIFT, 



(Hirundo apus.) 



PLATE IX. FIQUEE III. 



THIS species is common in all parts of the British Isles during the 

 summer months; it is believed to migrate hither from the continent 

 of Africa, where it is very abundant. It generally arrives early in 

 May, a little after the Common Swallow and the Martin, and departs 



