TlIK ElCDSTAIlT.- 



-BIRDS. 



-The Stoneciiat. 



325 



also a great favourite, both on account of it'- faniilia- 

 lily, and for the bea\ity of its song. As a song-bird it 

 is often kept in a cage, and the Hindoos, according to 

 Mr. Hodgson, are very fond of setting these tame birds 

 to fight, which the}' do with remarkable courage and 

 jiertina ;ity. Tlie pugnacity of the birds is so great, 

 tliat tlio birdcatchers take advantage of it in order to 

 capture the wild males. They lake a tame male 

 perched on the finger, to the nearest garden or grove ; 

 the bird utters his call at bis master's bidding, when 

 any wild male within bearing answers the challenge, 

 and the tame bird being sliiiped, a desperate combat 

 ensues, in the course of which the biidcatcher is able 

 to secure his prize ; the tame bird being even said to 

 assist in the capture of his adversary, by holding him 

 in his bill and claws. 



THE BLUEBIRD (Sialia sialis), partly takes the 

 place of the liobin in the United States of America, 

 to wliich he is a summer visitor, passing the winter in 

 the West Indies and the tropical parts of the American 

 continent. In his form and habits the Bluebird exhi- 

 bits a great resemblance to the Robin, and like him lias 

 a bright red breast, but the colour of the upper surface 

 is light blue. He is a bold, familiar, and pugnacious 

 bird, and duiing the summer pours forth a song which 

 is described by American naturalists as exceedingly 

 sweet. The nest of this species is built in the hole of 

 a tree or some similar situation, and the eggs are five 

 or si.x in number, and of a pale blue colour. The food 

 of the Bluebird consists principally of insects and 

 sjiidcrs ; but in the autumn it also eats fruits. 



THE REDSTART {Ruticilla iihanicum), which is 

 nearly allied to ihe Ilobin, is a summer visitor to this 

 country, where it is generally distributed, but by no 

 means abundant. In its general habits it resembles 

 tlie Kobin, and like it jerks its rather long tail up and 

 down at every movement ; it is from this habit and tlie 

 rod colour of the tail tliat it has received the name of 

 Kedstart. The male Redstart is lead-grey above, and 

 l>ale chestnut beneath, with the throat and face black, 

 the forehead white, and the tail reddish chestnut ; the 

 female has neither black nor white on the head, and 

 her colours are paler than those of the male. The 

 whole length of the bird is rather more than five inches. 



The Kedstart is an active and lively bird ; it haunts 

 woods, hedge-rows, and orchards, and is said to be very 

 partial to old walls covered with ivy. Its food consists, 

 like that of the Robin, of worms, insects, spiders, and 

 fruits. Its song is soft and sweet. The nest is com- 

 posed of moss and lined with hair and feathers, and 

 placed sometimes in a hollow tree or a hole in a wall, 

 sometimes behind the trained branch of a fruit-tree, 

 and sometimes on the ground. The females usually lay 

 from four to si.x eggs, which are of a tmiform greenish- 

 blue colour; and the birds sometimes produce two 

 broods in a season. Two other species, the Blue- 

 throated {R. suceica), and the Black Redstart 

 (/?. TitlDjf:). have been taken in this country. 



THE SCARLET-BREASTED ROBIN [Petrolca multi- 

 color) is an inhabitant of the whole southern part of 

 Australia, where it is known to the colonists generally 

 under the familiar English name of the Robin. The 

 male is black, with the forehead, some bands on the 



wings, and the belly white, and with the breast scarlet ; 

 the female is pale brown, with the breast red. The 

 whole length of the bird is about five inches. Tlie song 

 of the male somewhat resembles that of the English 

 Robin, but is weaker. The Scarlet-Breasted Robin 

 dwells amongst the woods and brushes skirting the 

 plains, and builds its nest usually in the hollow of a 

 tree ; the eggs are three or four in number, and it 

 breeds two or three times in the season. 



THE FLAME-BREASTED ROBIN {Pctroica pha-nkcci] 

 closely resembles tlK preceding species, whose place it 

 takes in Van Diemen's Land. This bird is, however, 

 more terrestrial in its habits than the Scarlet-breasted 

 Robin, but builds its nest in the same ivay in the hollow 

 of a tree. 



THE PIED ROBIN {Petroica i/co/or).— Besides tlie 

 preceding and several other red-breasted species, the 

 genus Petroica includes some birds in which black and 

 white, or brown, are the prevailing colours. The Pied 

 Robin, which is one of these, exhibits an elegant con- 

 trast in the deep black and pure white of its plumage ; 

 it is distributed in most parts of tlie Australian con- 

 tinent, living princi|ially in the open country, but 

 selecting those plains winch are studded over with 

 large trees. It passes much of its time on the ground 

 in pursuit of the insects on wiiich it feeds. 



THE ROCK WARBLER {Orli/ma rubricata).—0[ this 

 singular little bird, which is an inhabitant of New South 

 Wales, Mr. Gould gives the following account : — " Its 

 usual places of resort are the neighbourhood of water- 

 courses and stony, rocky gullies. So exclusively, in fact, 

 is it confined to such situations, that it never visits the 

 forests, nor have I ever seen it perching on the branches 

 of trees ; indeed, it would seem to have an aversion to 

 so doing, as it does not even resort to them as a resting- 

 [ilace for its nest, but suspends it to the ceilings ot 

 caverns and the under-surfiice of over-hanging rocks in 

 a manner that is most surprising. The nest, which is of 

 an oblong, globular form, and composed of moss and 

 other similar substances, is suspended by a narrow 

 neck, and presents one of the must singular instances 

 of bird architecture that has yet come under my notice." 

 This ingenious little architect is of a dull brown colour, 

 reddish beneath, with the throat grey ; its total length 

 is about five inches. 



THE STONECHAT {Saxicola nihicola) is a permanent 

 resident in Britain, where it resides upon furzy com- 

 mons and heaths. It is rather smaller Ihan the Red- 

 breast, and has the head, throat, and back black, the 

 breasi chestnut, and the belly yellowish-white. The 

 sides of the neck are white. The female is lighter in 

 colour than the male. The Stonechat is an active and 

 lively bird, constantly flitting from one bush or stone 

 to another, and dashing oft' in pursuit of passing insects 

 which it captures in the air, all the time keeping up a 

 continual twittering from which its name of Stonechat or 

 Stonechatter is derived. Its song is agreeable, though 

 short. The nest is built on or close to the grouml 

 under the shelter of a bush ; it is composed of moss and 

 grass. The eggs are five or six in number, greyish- 

 blue, speckled with reddish-brown at the larger end. 



THE WHINCHAT (Saxicola ruhdra) resembles the 

 preceding species in its general habits, and in its par- 



