322 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



and in Norway, according to Professor Collett, it is caught 

 in snares set for Thrushes, and baited with mountain-ash 

 berries. 



The s^ng of the Flycatcher is seldom heard, and has a very 

 low tone. As a rule, the only sound it is heard to utter is its 

 call-note, which resembles the sound o r two stones being knocked 

 together, a kind of "it-chick" : this it frequently utters as it 

 sits on its perch. 



Nest. Made of dry grass an 1 m :ss, often principally com- 

 posed of the latter, thickly lined with horse-hair and fine roots. 

 The outside is often decorated with cobwebs and lichens, which 

 causes the nest to assimilate so closely to its surroundings that 

 it is difficult to discover. A nest which we found in 1892 in a 

 crevice in the bark of a birch-tre^, about twelve feet from the 

 ground, had the outside decorated with bits of birch-bark, so as 

 to render it exactly like the rest of the tree. 



Eggs. From four to six in number. The ground-colour 

 varies from stone-colour to light green, but in each case the 

 eggs are thickly spotted and blotched with reddish-brown, these 

 spots mixed up with 'underlying spots and blotches of grey. 

 The markings are often collected near the larger end of the 

 egg, but are sometimes so thickly distributed as to hide 

 the ground-colour. The shape varies considerably, some 

 of the eggs being very long. Axis, 07-0.8 inch ; diam., 



THE PIED FLYCATCHERS. GENUS FICEDULA. 



Ficedula, Sundev, Av. Meth. Tent, p. 23 (1872). 

 Type, F. atricapilla (Linn.). 



The Pied Flycatchers, although not differing much in form 

 from the typ : cal Flycatchers, yet possess such peculiarities as 

 to warrant their separation under a separate genus. The sexes 

 differ markedly in colour. The nest is placed in holes of trees, 

 and the eggs are blue. 



