Ground the House 



in many a garden, sitting motionless on some post, 

 railing, dead branch, or possibly on the tennis 

 net, till spying a fly, it makes a short excursion, 

 catches it daintily and returns to the same perch to 

 watch for another. Tame yet unobtrusive, quiet 

 both in colouring and habits, the Spotted Fly- 

 catcher will always be a favourite with bird lovers, 

 owing to its pretty, taking ways. It is one of the 

 latest, if not the latest, of summer migrants, arriv- 

 ing about the second week in May, but it wastes 

 no time in beginning to build. A variety of sites 

 are chosen ; indeed, any sheltered spot seems to 

 suit, be it a hole in a wall, an ivy-covered tree, a 

 branch of a fruit tree trained against a wall, 

 trellis work, or among the " growers " of an elm 

 tree. In all these and many similar positions the 

 nest may be found, somewhat loosely, yet tidily 

 made of almost any material that comes most 

 handy. Four or five eggs are laid, of greenish or 

 greyish ground colour, handsomely marked with 

 reddish brown blotches, which sometimes com- 

 pletely hide the underlying tint. 



Near the nest the male bird is sure to have 

 some favourite perch commanding an open space, 

 where he sits, on the qui vive, occasionally uttering 

 a sharp call-note, accompanied by a flirt of the 

 tail, and his whitish breast, streaked sparingly with 

 brown, forms a pretty contrast to the dark back- 

 ground of the shrubbery. 



The very mention of the word shrubbery calls 



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