at intervals the night through, whilst the female is in- 
cubating; as soon as the young are excluded, it becomes 
silent, and is seldom heard to utter more than its call from 
tke 9th of June till the beginning of J uly, at which period 
the young have left the nest, when it again resumes it song ; 
but not so loud or frequently as before, and continues it till 
it quits this country; whilst singing, its tail is continually 
jerked up in a very singular manner. 
The Redstart builds in holes in decayed trees and old 
walls, frequently placing the nest between the trunk of a 
tree and a plant of ivy or wood-bine that may be growing 
round it; this spring, we took the nest from out of a thick 
bush of woodbine, it contained five eggs ; two weeks after- 
wards, the same pair of birds had formed a second nest in 
the same spot, which contained four eggs ; these ihey have 
now reared. The nest is composed of moss, lined with 
hair and feathers; it lays five or six light-blue eggs; the 
young are at first speckled in the same manner as the young 
of the Redbreast ; but this they lose at the first moult. 
This species feeds on insects, worms, and soft berries,^as 
currants, strawberries, raspberries, and the like. 
Its provincial names are, Redtail, Firetail, Redrump, 
Brandtail^ and Redtailed Flycatcher. 
