PIED FLYCATCHE R. 
mvscicapa atricapilla. 
"r «* »'- o— . **** - 
Sussex I have now and then met with stragglers at the time of migration, but have noticed no instance 
of their nesting in any of the southern counties. In Soot, and I have seen but two . 
on the Bass rock about the middle of May 1867, and a male in Strathspey a few. days earlier the following 
year. The cracks and crevices among the old ruins on the Bass would afford suitable breeding-quarters . or 
this species; but I could see no signs of a second bird, nor any evidence of a nest. A bitter cold east wind 
was blowing at the time; and, cither to escape its effects or to procure food, the bird appeared unwilling to 
quit the shelter of the buildings, its favourite resort when disturbed being a dilapidated chimney-stack in a 
roofless house among the fortifications. At times it made its appearance at the summit, or dashed out from 
the lower end or the holes in the crumbling stonework. The male that I observed in Strathspey seemed 
also to be only a visitor to the district. I watched him for some hours frequenting a patch of old timber near 
the waterside, and concluded his nest must have been near at hand. lie was absent, however, on the following 
day ; and no traces of him could be found on searching the wood on several subsequent occasions. Though 
I have often passed a week or two in the spring in this locality during the last ten years, I have never again 
met with the species. 
In the neighbourhood of Penrith, in Cumberland, I have had many opportunities of studying the habits 
of these birds. They appear to prefer situations more densely wooded than their relative the Spotted 
Flycatcher. I observed two or three pairs among the fine old timber in the large woods in the park at 
Edenhall; and they also frequented the plantations on the banks of the Eden. On two separate occasions in 
this locality I have come across instances where the nests of this species have been destroyed by other small 
birds. There was not the slightest doubt that Starlings were the culprits in one case ; and I strongly suspect 
they were also guilty in the second. But a number of the feathers of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker were 
scattered around; so it is possible that these birds may have dragged out a portion of the nest after a 
commencement had been made by the Starlings. The hole from which the nest was extracted was eventually 
deserted by all parties; but the other was made use of by a pair of Starlings, who might have reared their 
joung in peace had they not been shot in order that the Flycatchers might return to their rightful quarters. 
Insects of all descriptions, as well as flies, form, I hclievc, the usual diet of this species. I have more 
than once known them captured in a Nightingale-trap baited with a mealworm. 
Wht course these birds usually take at the time of their annual migration is, I imagine, influenced by 
the winds and weather at the time of their flitting. I have seen a single specimen on the North Sea during 
the autumn, but have never received wings from any of the light-ships off the east coast. Twice I have me°t 
IndEve 8 0 ftr UChfatl8U f ^ their a short distance of the sea-coast between Hastings 
and Eye. On both occasions the date was within a few days of the first of May. 
