194 



INSESSORES. PHCENICURA. Redstart. 



Nest, &c. 



Food. 



portunity of observing them to be very like those of our own 

 species, and it is also generally found frequenting similar loca- 

 lities in the countries it inhabits, such as old park walls, out- 

 buildings, and the ruins of ancient castles. U})on the Con- 

 tinent it is a common species, and has a wide distribution, 

 being found in the mountainous districts of Italy, in Switzer- 

 land, Germany, and other northern countries ; and as Sfjlvia 

 GibraUariensis of Latham appears to refer to this species, 

 we may extend its range to Spain, and probably to the op- 

 posite parts of the African continent. In France it is com- 

 paratively rare, and, according to Temminck, is very seldom 

 observed in Holland. 



It breeds in the clefts of rocks, holes of walls, &c., and is 

 said to lay five or six eggs, of a pure and lustrous white. 



Its food consists of insects and their larvae, worms, and 

 occasionally the smaller fruits and their berries. 



General 

 descrip- 

 tion. 

 Male Bird. 



Female. 



Plate D. Fig. 1. Represents a male of this species. 



Base of the bill, region of the eyes, sides of the neck, throat, 

 and breast, black ; the feathers of the latter being mar- 

 gined with grey. Middle of the abdomen greyish- white. 

 Flanks and sides blackish -grey. Head, nape of the 

 neck, back, and wing-coverts, bluish grey. Quills black- 

 ish-grey. Secondaries and tertials margined with grey- 



- ish-white. Upper and imder tail-coverts brownish- 

 orange. Tail having the two middle feathers dark-brown, 

 edged with orange ; the rest bright brownish-orange 

 red. Legs black. 



Fig. 2. In the female the whole of the body is of an uni- 

 form yellowish-grey colour ; the quills and secondaries 

 being of a darker shade, margined with pale yellowish- 

 brown. Under tail-coverts pale orange. Tail similar 

 to that of the male bird, but scarcely so bright in tint. 



