i'Uii FLi' CATCHERS. 



1 Pied Fly Catcher. 2 Spotted Fly Catcher. 



The Spotted Fly Catcher is known by several provincial names, all derived from its habits ; as the 

 " Beam-bird," (from a favorite site of his nest,) and the " Cherry-chopper," (from a supposed taste for the 

 fruit of that tree.) In some parts of England it is called the "Tost-bird," and in other parts the "Bee- 

 bird." It is about six inches in length, and of rather a dark color; its breast is a dullish white, slightly 

 tinged with dull orange, and the upper part of the body is brown. Its bill is of a dusky color, hooked and 

 fringed with some little bristles or hairs at its base. It is a very tame bird, and will often build its nest in 

 a hole in a wall or near a door-post where people are continually passing and repassing ; it seems particu- 

 larly partial to the vine and sweetbrier, for the foundation of its nest, and may often be seen among the 

 leaves near the windows of a cottage. It .also chooses the projecting beams or rafters of a house for the 

 site of its nest, and this so frequently as to have caused it to be called the beam or rafter bird. The Fly 

 Catcher makes little pretension to song, but occasionally utters a little inward wailing note. 



The Pied Fly Catcher is a much less common bird, though it has been supposed to be indigenous to 

 England. It is about the size of the Linnet, but, from its shape has been compared to a magpie in 

 miniature. The crown of the head is black, which color also pervades the bill, but there is a white spot on 

 its forehead, from which its name is derived ; the rest of the body is composed of various shades of black, 

 brown, and white, the latter covering the breast. Notwithstanding that some naturalists consider this 

 bird to be indigenous to England, others maintain it to be a summer bird of passage; and it is said by Mr. 

 Bolton and the Rev. Mr. Dalton to arrive in Yorkshire in the summer, and to depart before October. It is 

 scarcely ever to be met with in the south of England, and not very frequently in the north ; but Colonel 

 Montagu remarks that great numbers maybe seen at Lowther Castle, "Westmoreland, where it has bred for 

 many years. ■ 



