E KIT HAG US 63 



Hob. Northern Europe and Asia, north to Kamchatka, 

 south to Mongolia and Northern Kashmir, wintering in South 

 China, India, Ceylon, and Africa as far south as Abyssinia ; has 

 been met with in Alaska, and also, as a rare straggler, in Great 

 Britain. 



Frequents swampy localities and bushes near water, amongst 

 which it creeps about like a Hedge Sparrow, and feeds on insects 

 of various kinds, and but rarely on seeds. The song of the 

 male is rich, loud, and varied, and has a peculiar metallic 

 sound, and is generally uttered from the top of a bush or a 

 dead tree. It breeds in June, constructing a nest of dry grass- 

 bents in a loose foundation of leaves and grass, which is placed 

 on the ground or the side of a bank in a swampy locality. 

 The eggs 5 or 6 in number are greenish or brownish olive, 

 sometimes mottled or clouded, usually paler than those of the 

 Nightingale and smaller, measuring about 078 by 0'57. 



ERITHACUS, Cuv., 1801. 



95. REDBREAST. 

 ERITHACUS RUBECULA. 



Eriiliacus rubecula (Linn.), Syst. Nat. i. p. 337 (1766) ; Hewitson, i. p. 98, 

 pi. xxviii. ; (Naumann), ii. p. 397, Taf. 75, figs. 1, 2 ; Gould, B. of 

 E., pi. 98 ; id. B. of Gt. Brit. iii. pi. 48 ; Newton, i. p. 305 ; Dresser,- 

 ii. p. 329, pi. 51 ; Seebohm, Cat. B. Br. Mus. v. p. 299 ; Saunders, 

 p. 37 ; Lilford, iii. p. 6, pi. 3. 



Rouge-gorge, French ; Pisco de peito-ruiw> } Portug. ; Petirqfo, 

 Span. ; Pettirosso, Ital. ; JRothkehlcJien, German ; Roodborstje, 

 Dutch ; Rodkjaelk, Dan. ; Rodstrulesanger, Norweg. ; Eodhake- 

 sdngaren, Swed. ; Kultarintakerttu, Finn. ; Malinovka, Russ. 



ad. (England). Upper parts olivaceous brown ; wings and tail dark 

 brown margined with olive ; chin, throat, breast, and forehead rich orange 

 red bordered with slate-blue j rest of the under parts white, the flanks and 

 vent washed with olive brown ; bill blackish brown, lighter at the base ; 

 legs brown ; iris dark brown. Culmen 0'55, wing 2'9, tail 2*5, tarsus TO 

 inch. The female differs from the male only in being somewhat duller in 

 tinge, but the young are sandy brown above, spotted with dark brown and 

 dirty white below, marked with dark brown and washed with yellowish 

 brown on the breast and flanks. 



Hctb. Europe from the Azores and Canaries to Asia Minor, 

 Turkestan, and Persia, and from the Arctic circle to North 

 Africa, being resident in most of its range. 



Tame and familiar to a degree the Redbreast is one of our 

 best known species. 



