32 WJHTE-GOLLABED FLYGATCHEIl. 



of moss and hair. It lays five or six eggs of a pale greenish blue, 

 and generally very slightly deeper in colour or streaked at the larger 

 end. Large diameter nine lines, small diameter six lines. — Degland. 



It frequents wild and vast forests, where it may be found perched 

 upon the summit of the trees, only coming down when its prey, the 

 insects, are driven lower by the rain. It is only seen in the smaller 

 woods in autumn. The plumage differs much in the sexes, and at 

 different seasons. 



Male in breeding plumage. The top and sides of the head, back, 

 small wing coverts, upper tail coverts, and tail of a deep black; the 

 lower part of the back variegated with white. The forehead, a collar 

 round the lower part of the neck, a large longitudinal spot, and a 

 small spot below it upon each wing of a pure white; the outermost 

 tail feathers on each side edged with white. Beak, feet, and iris 

 black. 



Adult male in autumn and winter. Greyish brown above, white 

 below; it only then differs from the female of the same age by a kind 

 of grey and often interrupted collar round the neck, and by the 

 feathers being darker. 



Female. In breeding plumage very little different from the Pied 

 Flycatcher. It is of an ashy grey above, and pure white below; the 

 forehead whitish; a white spot upon the wing, and a kind of collar 

 of paler feathers at the base of the neck. 



Young birds of the year are like the females in autumn, but they 

 have the inferior parts of the body of a duller white, the chests and 

 sides spotted with ash-colour, and they have not, like them, a whitish 

 forehead. At the approach of spring the plumage of the young male 

 blackens wherever it is ash-coloured in the female. One or both 

 lateral tail quills are black with white edges, but this disappears 

 entirely in the males upwards of two years old. In winter there is 

 no difference between males and females. 



The figure of this bird and its e^^ are from specimens in my own 

 collection, sent to me by Dr. Meves, of Stockholm. 



Bird figured by Roux, "Ornith. Prov.," pi. 151, male in summer 

 plumage; Gould, "B. of E.," pL m, f. 2; Bonteil, "Ornith. du 

 Dauph.," pi. 19, f. 2. 



Muscicapa parva, the Red-breasted Flycatcher, is now in the British 

 fauna, (see Newton's edition of Yarrell.) I give an illustration of 

 the eg^ from my own collection. It was taken in Germany. 



