THE WATER OUZEL. BIRDS. THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 



333 



feathers of the wings and short tail black. It is found 

 in gardens and groves, usually in small flocks, feeding 

 on the ground, principally upon beetles. 



THE GIANT PITTA (Pitta ccerulea), a native of 

 Sumatra, one of the largest species of this group, 

 measures about nine inches in length, and is of a 

 brilliant blue colour above, with the top of the head, 

 a collar, and the quills of the wings black ; the throat 

 is whitish, and all the rest of the lower surface has a 

 brownish tint. 



THE HILL BLACKBIRD (Myiophonm ccentletts), a 

 common bird on the Himalayas, is of a metallic blue- 

 black colour ; and, from this and its fine song, it has 

 been compared by the English residents in India with 

 our Blackbird. Its musical whistle is said by Mr. Vigne 

 to be the sweetest note heard in the hills. Its nest is 

 built upon the ledges of some nearly inaccessible rock, 

 and is composed of moss and lichens, lined with fine 

 roots. In its habits this species greatly resembles the 

 European Blackbird. 



THE WATEE OUZEL (Cinclus aquaticus), sometimes 

 called the Dipper, is now generally regarded as being 

 most nearly allied to the Ant- thrushes and Pittas, not- 

 withstanding the peculiarity of its habits and mode of 

 life. This singular bird, which is an inhabitant of 

 Europe, and is found not uncommonly in this country, 

 is about eight inches in length, of a dark grey colour 

 above, with the head and neck brown ; and brownish-, 

 red beneath, with the throat white. It resides in the 

 vicinity of water, exhibiting a decided preference for 

 the clear streams and lakes of mountainous districts ; 

 and it is in the water, and not on its banks, that the 

 bird seeks its food. The older naturalists supposed 

 that this bird walked into the water, carrying down 

 with it a supply of air for respiration during its sub- 

 mersion ; but the impossibility of this is proved by the 

 fact that the bird does not walk even on land, whilst 

 the lightness of its body would prevent its either walk- 

 ing or hopping at the bottom of the water. From the 

 observations of the late Mr. M'Gillivray, it would 

 appear that the aquatic progression of the Water 

 Ouzel is effected by the agency of the wings ; the 

 bird actually flying under water, as is the case with 

 many of the short- winged swimming birds. On rising 

 to the surface, the Water Ouzel swims well, and can 

 dive again without rising from the water. The food 

 of this bird consists of aquatic mollusca and. insects, 

 and perhaps also of the spawn and young of fishes. 

 The nest is made of moss, completely domed over, so 

 as to have only a small aperture for the ingress and 

 egress of the bird. It is placed in some convenient 

 situation about the bank of the stream or lake, and 

 contains five or six pure white eggs. The birds rear 

 two or three broods in the year. 



FAMILY IE. MUSCICAPID^. 



The birds of this family are characterized by having a 

 rather short but broad and depressed bill, with the gape 

 very wide, running back nearly as far as the eyes, and 

 fringed on each side at the base with long and strong 

 bristles springing from the upper mandible. In these 

 respects they present a certain amount of resemblance 



to the fissirostral birds, as also in the small develop- 

 ment of the legs, which are generally short and slender. 

 Their wings are generally long. 



These birds are generally of small size, and strictly 

 insectivorous in their habits, although some of the 

 larger species of the family kill and devour the smaller 

 vertebrate animals. The English name of Flycatchers 

 applied to the best known species, indicates that these 

 feed principally upon flying insects, and may also be 

 regarded as indicating the mode in which the typical 

 species of the family capture their prey. The birds 

 are in the habit of perching upon some post or rail, or 

 on the branch ot a tree, watching for the passage of 

 insects, in pursuit of which they immediately dash off, 

 returning again to their original position when the 

 capture is effected, there to look out for more. This 

 mode of feeding is, however, by no means universal in 

 the family, nor is it peculiar to the birds of this group. 

 We have already had occasion to notice the prevalence 

 of the same habit in several insectivorous birds ; and 

 the writer has even seen it practised by the common 

 house-sparrow. 



THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa griseola) 

 Plate 10, fig. 35. Of the typical genus of this family 

 we have two British species, and of these the Spotted 

 Flycatcher is by far the most abundant. It is a summer 

 visitor to this country, and one of the latest in arriving 

 here, usually making its appearance hi the south about 

 the 20th of May ; but, in the course of the summer, it 

 diffuses itself very generally over the whole island, and 

 may be seen almost everywhere taking up its position of 

 observation upon a post or paling, and performing its 

 short irregular flights in pursuit of passing insects. 

 This bird is sometimes accused of devouring cherries 

 and raspberries, but probably without cause ; its object 

 in visiting these fruits, when ripe, being no doubt to 

 feed upon the flies which are attracted by them, as no 

 remains of fruit have ever been found in its stomach. 



The nest of this bird, which is supposed to be gene- 

 rally made by the female alone, is usually placed in the 

 side of a faggot stack, a hole in a wall, or upon a beam 

 in some outhouse, but sometimes in trees, especially 

 when trained against a wall. The bird sometimes, 

 however, chooses singular situations in which to con- 

 struct her dwelling ; one nest has been built upon the 

 head of a garden-rake left accidentally standing against 

 a wall ; another in a bird-cage ; another, recorded by 

 Mr, Atkinson, on the angle of a lamp post in one of the 

 streets of Leeds ; and another, mentioned by both Jesse 

 and Yarrell, in a still more remarkable place namely, 

 within the crown on the top of one of the lamps in 

 Portland Place in London. The nest is cup-shaped 

 and neatly constructed of moss, roots, and grass, usually 

 lined with hair, wool, and feathers. The eggs, which 

 are four or five in number, are of a bluish- white colour, 

 with pale red spots. 



THE PIED FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa atricapilla), 

 which is also a summer visitor to Britain, is compara- 

 tively a rare bird in this country, and is most abundant 

 in the lake district of Cumberland and Westmoreland. 

 It is rather a smaller bird than the preceding, mea- 

 suring little over five inches in length; the male is black 

 above and white beneath, with a spot above the base 



