THE RED -BREASTED FLYCATCHER. 



295 



DISTRIBUTION. Abroad. Island of Gotland in Baltic, Austrian 

 Poland, Austria, Hungary, south Russia, south Germany (locally 

 common in Bavaria), parts of middle, and very rare north, Germany, 

 south-east Europe generally, but in Greece apparently only migrant, 

 very local France, Belgium, Holland, also Italy ; occurs (generally 

 in April) in Corsica, Cyprus and Spain. On passage in most parts 

 of Europe, Persia, Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt, north-west 

 Africa, winter-quarters probably in central Africa. 



MUSCICAPA PARVA 



122. Muscicapa parva parva Bechst. THE RED-BREASTED 

 FLYCATCHER. 



MUSCICAPA PARVA Bechstein, Latham's allg. Uebers. d. Vogel, n, 1, p. 356 



fig. on title-page (1794 Thiiringerwald). 



Muscicapa parva Bechstein, Yarrell, i, p. 224 ; Saunders, p. 161. 



DESCRIPTION. Adult male. Winter. 

 Fore -head and crown brown tinged 

 greyish ; rest of upper -parts brown ; 

 upper tail - coverts brown - black 

 tipped greyish-brown ; ring round 

 eye whitish ; lores, under eye and 

 ear-coverts ashy -grey tinged brown ; 

 sides of neck purer ashy -grey ; chin, 

 throat and upper-breast orange-red 

 (varying somewhat in depth and 

 occasionally bumsh-red) ; sides of 

 breast, flanks and axillaries creamy- 

 buff ; under tail coverts white slightly 

 tinged creamy ; rest of under -parts 

 white ; tail brown-black, three outer- 



"SiSS^Sf^^SfeSftaS P airs *itk ab ut basal two-thirds 



of tail. white, next pair with middle portion 



of outer web and part of inner 



web white, two central pairs generally without white but second 

 sometimes with some white on outer webs ; primaries and second- 

 aries dark brown, outer webs narrowly edged paler brown and 

 inner webs edged whitish ; all wing-coverts dark brown with 

 rather paler brown incon spicuous edgings . This plumage is acquired 

 by complete moult in Aug.-Sept. Summer. The feathers of 

 chin, throat and breast, crown and some of the other body-feathers 

 are moulted in Feb.-April but not tail, wings or wing-coverts. 

 New feathers like those of winter. Abrasion makes fore-head 

 and crown more greyish ; lores and ear -coverts purer ashy-grey ; 

 red of throat more yellowish ; sides of breast and flanks more 

 whitish less creamy-buff. 



Adult female. Winter. Like adult male but fore-head 



