THE PIED FLYCATCHER 



MUSCICAPA ATRICAPILLA 



LOCAL names in surrounding counties : 



STATUS IN BRITISH AVIFAUNA : A local summer visitor, 

 chiefly to Wales, the north of England, and the south of 

 Scotland. 



RADIAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES OF ST. 

 PAUL'S : Nearly a hundred years ago Graves records 

 that the Pied Flycatcher nested at Peckham, and in our 

 own time it has been found doing so at Tooting, in 

 Highgate Woods, and at Epping. It has been frequently 

 observed in woods at Hampstead, and even noticed in 

 Kensington Gardens, during migration. Little more can 

 be said of the distribution of the Pied Flycatcher in the 

 Metropolitan area. It is a species that often wanders 

 out of its usual course during spring and autumn passage, 

 and at those periods may occasionally stray into districts 

 near London. A bird that casually visits such a central 

 locality as Kensington Gardens may in the course of its 

 errantry be observed almost anywhere, so that we need 

 not dwell at greater length upon its local distribution 

 here. 



The habits of the Pied Flycatcher very closely resemble 

 those of the preceding species. It arrives earlier, during 

 the last half of April, leaving in September. In our 

 islands this bird shows a preference for the wilder districts, 

 the birch coppices and open woodlands where streams and 

 pools abound, but in other lands it is equally partial to 

 gardens and orchards. Its food chiefly consists of insects, 

 which are mostly chased and captured in the air, but small 

 fruits are also eaten. The short and low-toned song of 

 the male bears some resemblance to that of the Redstart. 

 The Pied Flycatcher breeds in May, and the nest is always 

 made in a hole of some kind, in a tree or wall for preference. 



