5318 Birds. 



I once or twice saw the Grayheaded Wagtail (M.Jlava), but it was 

 decidedly scarce; the country, in fact, was not well suited to its 

 habits, as there was a total absence of marshy ground, in which it 

 seems particularly to delight. 



Many naturalists have spoken of the difficulty of "beating up" the 

 feathered population of the Continental states. I think it is Mr. 

 Wolley who mentions this with regard to Lapland : many also have 

 remarked the great scarcity of small birds in Germany : to a certain 

 extent this is doubtless true, but at the same time great caution 

 should be used in stating positively that certain species are rare or 

 unknown in particular districts: for more than a month after my 

 arrival in Greiz I sought the black redstart {Sylvia tithys) in vain, 

 and it was not until put on the right scent by a gentleman in the 

 town that I discovered how abundant it really was. 



Every one who has travelled through the central part of Germany 

 must have observed in each field a small wooden building, somewhat 

 loosely constructed, and answering the double purpose of barn and 

 stable. These are the great haunts of the black redstart, and in the 

 breeding-season scarcely one of them is without its pair of birds, and 

 during the whole year they affect more or less the same situation. 

 On discovering this fact I had no difficulty in seeing as many speci- 

 mens as I desired, and in the course of five minutes I have frequently 

 observed ten or twelve of this attractive species, chiefly females or 

 young males of the year, but the old males were also often to be seen, 

 and a handsomer bird it would be difficult to find. They remain for 

 hours together perched on some particular point of the roof of these 

 barns, occasionally leaving their station for a few moments in pursuit 

 of insects, but invariably returning to the same spot. They were, 

 however, somewhat shy, and the instant they became conscious of the 

 presence of man either entered the building through one of the 

 numerous crevices, or flew to a distant part of the field. They are 

 also double-brooded, and, as my friend Mr. Miiller informed me, fre- 

 quently lay in the first nest eight eggs, but in the second never more 

 than five. The common redstart I also observed now and then, but 

 it was not abundant : by the country people it is called " wood red- 

 start," and S. Tithys " house redstart," the last-named sharing with 

 the swallow and golden crest the favour of the kindly disposed and 

 fanciful peasantry. 



Another very interesting bird, which I often watched with great 

 pleasure, was the crested tit (Pants cristafus). They were always to 

 bu seen amidst the branches of a small plantation of fir and birch 



