" The male has the appearance of a miniature magpie.' 



THE PIED FLYCATCHER 



HIS sprightly little migrant 



T arrives during the month 



of April, and departs again 

 for less rigorous climes in 

 September and October. 

 Some authorities state that 

 it breeds most numerously 

 in the north of England, 

 but personally I have met with far 

 more nests in mid-Wales than I have 

 ever found in the reputed haunts of the 

 species in Cumberland, Westmorland, 

 or Northumberland. 



The male has the appearance of a 

 miniature magpie, the voice of a redstart, 

 and the manners of a Spotted Flycatcher, 

 with ]>erhaps the single reservation that 

 he descends oftener to the ground to 

 pick up caterpillars and insects, which 

 his keen little eyes detect from an 

 incredible height, whilst he is moving 

 about in the branches of trees above. 

 The Pied Flycatcher breeds sparingly 



in the south of Scotland, but is only 

 a rare and accidental visitor to Ireland. 

 I have seen it in the Eastern Counties 

 of England, but have never found its 

 nest there. 



Whilst the female is engaged in the 

 work of incvibation the male appears 

 to spend nearly all his time hanging 

 round the neighbourhood of the nesting 

 place, singing his short, pretty song, 

 which may easily be mistaken for that 

 of the redstart, and chasing away any 

 rival that may happen to wander too 

 near what he regards as his own special 

 locality. On one occasion I found 

 several pairs of these interesting birds 

 breeding in a comparatively small wood, 

 and observation proved that the males 

 were very jealous of each other. 



The nest is made in holes in decaying 

 tree trunks and broken stumps as a 

 rule, but may sometimes be found in 

 an old wall or crevice of rock. It 



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