91 



THE REDSTART 



Like the nightingale, the redstart is a 

 bird of passage, arriving in England about 

 the middle of April, and departing the 

 latter end of September or beginning of 

 October. In its disposition it is remark- 

 ably shy and solitary, seeking the deepest 

 recesses of the forest, where, in some old 

 wall, or ruined edifice, it builds its nest of 

 moss, dry grass, Sec. and lines it with hair 

 and feathers : in this nest it usually de- 

 posits four or five eggs of a pale bluish 

 green, which are hatched in May, and 

 the young ones may be taken when ten 

 days old. 



The redstart has also been known to 

 build in the midst of cities, where, how- 

 ever, it generally chooses the most inac- 

 cessible places for its residence ; it likewise 

 frequents lofty precipices, and, it is said, 

 that if observed whilst building her nest, 



