THE RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. 27 
Birds” in 1883, four examples had been shot, and a fifth seen in Great Britain ; 
the first specimen, a female, was killed near Falmouth, on January 24th, 1863; the 
second and third were shot, or caught on Trescoe, in the Scilly Isles, in October 
of the same year; and a fourth was shot on the 5th November, 1865. On October 
the 5th, of 1883, too late to be included by Seebohm, a male was shot at Berwick- 
on-Tweed, and on October 23rd, 1887, a young bird was picked up on Arklow 
(South) light-ship, near Wexford: since that time other specimens have been 
obtained: the specimens recorded up to the end of 1890, being thus summed up 
by Mr. J. H. Gurney (“ Zoologist,” 1891, p. 136) :—‘‘On September 13th, a female 
Red-breasted Flycatcher, MWuscicafpa parva, Bechstein, was shot at Cley by Mr. 
Ogilvie, the eighth on record, Cornwall being accredited with four, Ireland one, 
Berwickshire one, and Yorkshire one, which last was shot at Scarborough, October 
23rd, 1889, the same day of the month as the Irish example in 1887.” It would 
therefore appear that this little Flycatcher is likely to occur, especially late in the 
autumn, upon our coasts; and, inasmuch as one example has thereby lost its life, 
upon an average, nearly every three years (taking the dates from 1863 to 18g0), 
the importance of admitting the species into the present work will be recognized. 
This elegant little species has a curious resemblance to our Robin, and Seebohm 
expresses the opinion that it is ‘“‘a connecting-link between the Robins and the 
Flycatchers”; his description of the bird is so satisfactory that, in the present 
instance, I shall quote it in full:—‘‘ The Red-breasted Flycatcher has the general 
colour of the upper parts, except the crown, nape, and sides of the head and neck 
which are bluish-grey, olive-brown; central tail-feathers blackish-brown, the outer 
ones white at base, and broadly tipped with blackish-brown; throat and breast 
orange-chestnut; rest of underparts white, suffused on the flanks and under tail- 
coverts with buff; beak brown, paler at the base; irides hazel; legs, toes, and 
claws dark brown. ‘The female in general colouration resembles the male, except 
that the rich orange-chestnut throat is replaced by buff, and the bluish-grey is 
wanting on the head and sides of the neck. 
Males of the year scarcely differ from the female, and breed in the following 
spring in immature plumage (JZ. mznuta)/. In the second year the chestnut appears 
on the throat (AZ deucura); im the third year the chestnut appears on the 
upper breast (JZ. parva); and in the fourth year it extends also on to the lower 
breast” (JZ. hyperythra). “ Young in first plumage are spotted on the breast and 
upper parts, as in all the allied species.” 
I believe that this is by no means the only species which has received a 
different name for each plumage: I have already noted * that examples of MZusia 
* Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 249. 
