194 1NSESSORES. PHOENICURA. REDSTART. 



portunity of observing them to be very like those of our' own 

 species, and it is also generally found frequenting similar loca- 

 lities in the countries it inhabits, such as old park walls, out- 

 buildings, and the ruins of ancient castles. Upon the Con- 

 tinent it is a common species, and has a wide distribution, 

 being found in the mountainous districts of Italy, in Switzer- 

 land, Germany, a;,d other northern countries ; and as Sylvia 

 Gibraltariensis of LATHAM appears to refer to this species, 

 we may extend its range to Spain, and probably to the op- 

 posite parts of the African continent. In France it is com- 

 paratively rare, and, according to TEMMINCK, is very seldom 

 observed in Holland. 



Nest, &c. It breeds in the clefts of rocks, holes of walls, &c., and is 

 said to lay five or six eggs, of a pure and lustrous white. 



Food. Its food consists of insects and their larvae, worms, and 



occasionally the smaller fruits and their berries. 



PLATE D. Fig. 1. Represents a male of this species. 

 General jj ase o f the bill, region of the eyes, sides of the neck, throat, 

 tion. and breast, black ; the feathers of the latter being mar- 



gined with grey. Middle of the abdomen greyish- white. 

 Flanks and sides blackish -grey. Head, nape of the 

 neck, back, and wing-coverts, bluish grey. Quills black- 

 ish-grey. Secondaries and tertials margined with grey- 

 ish-white. Upper and under tail-coverts brownish- 

 orange. Tail having the two middle feathers dark-brown, 

 edged with orange ; the rest bright brownish-orange 

 red. Legs black. 



Female. Fig. 2. In the female the whole of the body is of an uni- 

 form yellowish-grey colour ; the quills and secondaries 

 being of a darker shade, margined with pale yellowish- 

 brown. Under tail-coverts pale orange. Tail similar 

 to that of the male bird, but scarcely so bright in tint. 



