1 62 BRITISH BIRDS. 



The Redstart is migratory; it appears about 

 the middle of April, and departs in the end of 

 September, or beginning of October; it frequents 

 old walls and ruinous edifices, where it makes 

 its nest, composed chiefly of moss, lined with 

 hair and feathers. It is distinguished by a pe- 

 culiar quick shake of its tail from side to side, 

 when it alights. Though wild, and timorous, it 

 is frequently found in the midst of cities, always 

 chusing the most inaccessible places for its resi- 

 dence ; it likewise builds in forests, in holes of 

 trees, or in high and dangerous precipices. The 

 female lays four or five eggs, not much unlike 

 those of the Hedge-warbler, but somewhat longer. 

 These birds feed on flies, spiders, the eggs of ants, 

 small berries, soft fruits, and such like. The young 

 are thickly freckled with tawny spots, and might 

 readily be mistaken for the young of the Red- 

 breast, but for the vivid horizontal motion of the 

 tail, which begins as soon as they fly. 



