7640 Birds. 



Spotted Flycatcher [Muscicapa grisola). Summer. 1 have known 

 it return to the same nest for two years in succession. The young of 

 the first brood are able to fly early in July. 



Pied Flycatcher {M. atricapilla). Arrives in April, remaining until 

 the beginning of September. I found several nests, one of which was 

 'in an old decayed beech-log lying at the foot of a wall : the bottom of 

 the nest was not more than eight inches from the ground. All the 

 others were in small hollows in the trunks of trees, one being in the 

 deserted nest of a woodpecker. The young are hatched in June, and 

 when fledged are brought in large numbers to the markets. It is 

 probably owing to the difficulty experienced in supplying them with 

 their natural food that they so soon die when confined in cages. At 

 all times they seem to be fond of finely-chopped raw meat. 



Missel Thrush {Turdus viscivorus). Permanent, but rather scarce. 



Fieldfare (7". pilaris). Winter. 



Song Thrush {T. music us). Permanent 



Redwing {T. iliaciis). Winter. I procured one specimen in which 

 the back was nearly covered with large white spots. 



Blackbird {T. merula). Permanent. Pied varieties are frequently 

 to be seen in the shops. 



Ring Ouzel {T. torquatus). Occasional. Three individuals ob- 

 tained from the same shop had their stomachs distended with small 

 shells, to all appearance a species of Clausilia. 



Golden Oriole {Oriolus yalbula). Summer. Said to be common 

 in some seasons and scarce in others. Eggs were brought to me on 

 the 23rd of May. The nest containing them was found in a tall birch 

 tree in the Forest of Soignies, partly suspended from, and partly 

 resting upon, the fork of a small branch. The outer part was made 

 of wool, long grass and fibres of roots, the lining consisting of fine 

 flowering heads of grasses ; the sides were so firmly bound and 

 twisted round the fork of the branch that the latter had to be cut away 

 in order to avoid injury to the nest. In form the nest was rather 

 wide, but scarcely so deep as the peculiarity of its situation would 

 have led me to expect. The eggs were white, faintly tinged with 

 pink, spotted, but rather sparingly, with dark purplish brown and red- 

 dish gray. It is probable that two broods are sometimes reared in a 

 season, for I have seen unfledged young both in June and in August. 

 The stomachs of recently-killed specimens contained small insects, 

 and son)etimes a few berries. 



Iledgesparrow {Sylvia mudularis) . Permanent. 



