l6S CASSELL'S BOOK OF BIRDS. 



unlucky insect that chances to attract their keen little eyes as they perch quietly among the branches, 

 and, having secured the victim, they at once return to their lurking-place. During the period of 

 incubation, the males utter a monotonous cry; but at other seasons their voices are very rarely heard. 

 The nest built by the Fly-catchers is carelessly constructed, but furnished with a warm bed for the 

 reception of the young, and is placed either in holes of trees or upon a branch, quite close to the 

 stem. Both parents assist in hatching the four or five eggs that compose a brood, and tend the 

 young until the season for migrating approaches, when they leave their native lands for more southern 

 regions, often reaching Central Africa in the course of their winter jounieyings. 



THE GREY OR SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER. 



The Grey or Spotted Fly-catcher {Butalis grisold) is distinguishable from its congeners by 

 the following characteristics : — The plumage of the male is deep grey upon all the upper part of 

 the body, each feather having a black shaft. The crown of the head is blackish grey, lightly spotted ; 

 and the wing-feathers are tipped with light grey, thus forming an indistinct border to the pinions. 

 The entire under side is dirty white, shaded with reddish yellow upon the sides, and streaked with 

 faint, dark grey, oval patches on the breast and sides of the throat. The eye is brown, the beak and 

 feet black ; the colours in the plumage of the female are paler. The back of the young is whitish, 

 spotted with grey, and marked with brown and reddish yellow ; the under side is of a whitish shade, 

 spotted with grey upon the breast and throat. The male bird is five inches and a half long and nine 

 and a half broad ; the wing measures about three and the tail three and a half inches ; the female is 

 only a few lines smaller than her mate. These lively, restless birds inhabit all the countries of 

 Europe except its extreme north, and are especially numerous in the southern provinces, making their 

 appearance in pairs at the end of April or beginning of May ; in England, about the 20th of May, 

 when they at once commence breeding. They leave for warmer latitudes early in the autumn. 

 During their winter migrations they visit the interior of Africa, and we ourselves have seen large 

 numbers sojourning for a time in the forests near the Blue Nile. In Europe they seem to have no 

 preference for any particular locality, but inhabit highland or lowland regions, unfrequented forest 

 tracts, or the gardens and orchards of a populous district, with equal impartiality ; trees in the 

 immediate vicinity of water, however, .afford them the retreats they most delight in, the sheltering 

 branches enabling them to dart down unobserved amongst the swarms of insects that disport 

 themselves over the surface of lakes and streams. Whilst thus engaged in watching for prey, the 

 Fly-catcher waves its tail to and fro, as its keen eye selects the most tempting morsel, which is 

 instantly swooped upon and seized with a noisy snap of the beak, the bird returning at once to its 

 perch. Should its victim be too large to be swallowed entire, its body is crushed against a tree in 

 such a manner as to tear off the wings and legs, and thus render it manageable. The bird thus 

 disposes of flies, gnats, butterflies, and dragon-flies, always catching them upon the wing. When 

 the coldness of the season compels it to subsist upon berries, these latter are also obtained whilst in 

 flight, by sweeping down towards the tree and snatching them from the stalk en passa?it, without 

 tarrying for a moment to rest on the branch. The delicate feet of this species do not permit it to hop 

 from bough to bough, and its movements upon the ground, to which it rarely descends, are feeble and 

 awkward ; but its flight, on the contrary, is rapid, and extremely graceful, its course through the air 

 being diversified from time to time by a fluttering motion, produced by alternately completely closing 

 and broadly spreading its pinions and tail. 



The voice of the Fly-catcher may be described as a gentle, twittering chatter. The call-note 

 is monotonous, and in moments of terror or excitement usually accompanied by violent motion 

 of the wings. Solitary individuals are seldom seen, and only during such time as the young are 



