FLYCATCHERS 141 



berries, particularly those of the mountain-ash. The song is hardly noticeable, and 



the call merely a sort of click. This flycatcher ranges through Europe, from 



the White Sea to the Mediterranean, from the British Isles to the Urals, and 



beyond to Turkestan, and on its migration to Africa reaches the Gold Coast on 



the west and Natal on the east. 



The pied flycatcher {M. atricapilla) is a less familiar bird, 

 Pied Flycatcher. . ... , ■ , ,, ,. . ., •, ^ , , , 



frequenting, from the middle of April until October, much the same 



localities as the spotted species, but keeping more in the woods away from human 



dwellings. Its call, an incessant bit, bit, bit, betrays its presence at the extreme 



end of some overhanging branch, from which it can drop down on the insects 



passing through the grass below. In Germany and the adjacent parts of the 



Continent this flycatcher is comparatively scarce, but its range includes the whole 



of Europe, not excepting Scandinavia and Finland ; while in Siberia it wanders a 



little beyond the eastern slopes of the Urals. It is found in Spain and Palestine. 



and is resident in Algeria ; its winter-quarters are northern Africa down to the 



Gambia on one side and southern Egypt on the other. In the British Isles it is 



known from Devonshire to the Orkneys, but seldom goes north of Inverness, and 



is throughout very local in its distribution. In Norway it breeds as far north as 



Tromsd, within the Arctic Circle. 



White-Collared Resembling at first glance the last, the white-collared flycatcher 



Flycatcher. (j[/_ collaris) is sometimes mistaken for that species : although 



often seen shortly after its arrival, it soon retires to the forest to make its 



nest in holes in trees, or on branches among dense foliage, and is not again 



noticed until on its southward journey. Inhabiting central and southern 



Europe and western Asia, it is rare in Germany, and only occasionally found so 



far north as southern Sweden. In Italy and Greece it is better known as a 



migrant than a resident; its winter - quarters being northern Africa. While 



journeying through Italy it may be seen among the gardens and vineyards, 



searching the nests of other birds for insects, and having so much the 



appearance of looking after the young birds that the Italians have named 



it the nurse. 



Red-Breasted The red-breasted flycatcher (Siphia parva) is the smallest and 



Flycatcher, least known of the European species of the group, whose favourite 



haunts are beech-woods in which the trees are of different heights. Although 



smaller, it presents considerable resemblance to the redbreast, but lives among the 



dense foliage, at a height of from 30 to 60 feet, only coming down to the ground 



for water. During migration it is not unfrequently seen in gardens. Its nest is 



like that of the chaffinch, but smaller, and contains from five to seven eggs. 



The song, which is simple and pleasing, is limited to a few notes, repeated 



two or three times from one tree, and then from another. On the Continent 



this flycatcher is most abundant in Mecklenburg, Pomerania, west Prussia. 



Moravia, Galicia, and Hungary, and thence ranges through eastern Europe 



as far as Turkestan. Westward of the Rhine and in south-west Germany 



it is one of the rarest birds. In the south of Europe it is known as a 



winter visitor, and it straggles to Great Britain, Denmark, and the south of 



Sweden. 



