

THE SINGING BIRDS. 171 



feed them, and will take flies from the hand : Nightingales' food suits them be-st when they are 

 subjected to a life of confinement. Large numbers of these useful birds are caught by the Italians, 

 in a variety of nets and snares, during the time of their autumn migrations, and hundreds of them 

 are exposed for sale as dainty morsels in every market-place. In ancient times Fly-catchers were 

 sent from Cyprus to Italy prepared in spice and vinegar, and closely packed in pots or small casks. 



THE DWARF FLY CATCHER. 



The Dwarf Fly-catcher (Erythrosterna parva) has been selected as the representative of a 

 distinct group, on account of its comparatively powerful beak and high tarsi. The length of this bird 

 is about five and its breadth about eight inches. Its plumage is so diversified as to have given rise 

 to many errors concerning the number of species. During the spring the upper part of the body of 

 the adult male is of brownish grey, deepest in shade towards the head ; the feathers of the larger 

 wing-covers and the posterior quills have a light edge ; the chin, throat, lower and upper breast are 

 rust-red ; the rest of the under side dirty white ; the primary quills are of a blackish brown-grey, 

 enlivened by a light border. In the young male the reddish brown upon the throat is paler than in 

 the adult bird, and all the colours in the plumage of the female are fainter and greyer than in that of 

 her mate. All have dark brown eyes, and black beaks and feet. 



The Dwarf Fly-catcher is found extensively throughout Poland and almost the whole of 

 Germany, where it seems to prefer the shelter of the beech-woods, living principally in the summits 

 of lofty trees, and rarely approaching the vicinity of man or descending to the ground. Its call is 

 generally a loud piping note ; but the song varies so considerably in different individuals as to be 

 sometimes almost unrecognisable. The nest is placed either in a hole or upon the branch of a tree, 

 at some distance from the trunk : it is formed of slender blades of grass vegetable fibres, green moss, 

 or similar materials, lined with wool and hair. The brood consists of four or five eggs, of a greenish 

 white, marked indistinctly with light rust-red patches. Both parents assists in the work of incubation, 

 and exhibit extraordinary attachment to their young ; the male bird, however, devotes himself 

 principally to tending and entertaining his mate, whilst she undertakes the main part of the building 

 operations. No sooner are the nestlings capable of supporting themselves than they leave their 

 parents, and retire into the depths of the forests, where they remain until their winter migrations. 

 From the day when the parent birds are separated from their families, their nature seems to undergo 

 a complete change, and they at once assume a quiet, inactive deportment, that strongly contrasts with 

 their previously sportive, busy habits. Count Gourcy, who reared many of these Dwarf Fly-catchers, 

 tells us that they were readily tamed, and soon learnt to know him, welcoming his approach to the 

 cage by flapping their wings and waving their tails above their heads. They bathed freely, and 

 devoured insects in large quantities, eagerly snapping at any fly that was unlucky enough to approach 

 too near. 



The SILK-TAILS (Bomliycilla) possess a compact body, short neck, and moderate-sized head. 

 Their wing, in which the first and second quills are longer than the rest, is of medium length, and 

 pointed at the extremity ; the tail is short, and composed of twelve feathers ; the straight, short beak 

 is broad, much compressed at its base, but raised and narrow at its tip, the upper mandible being 

 longer and broader than the lower one, arched at its culmen, and slightly hooked at its extremity, 

 which is visibly incised. The feet are short and powerful, and the exterior and centre toe connected 

 by a fold of skin. The soft silky plumage upon the head is prolonged into a crest, and some of 

 the wing and tail feathers terminate in horn-like laminae. The coloration differs but little in the 

 two sexes. 



