THE IIEIXJE ACCENTOIE 
<)7 
at Halligavtli. Mr dray nientions liaviiig seen the nest on 
Ailsa Cra\^', — a far more unlikely locality, one would sn])|)ose, 
than many wliich conld he found in Orkney, or even in 
Slietland. 
THE EEDBliEAST. 
Erythaca ruhccula. 
Almost every Shetlander believes this ))ird to ])C common 
throTighout the islands, hut it a])pears that the name liohin 
Ivedbreast” is invariably applied there to the common Wren, 
which is at all times abundant. The true Eedbreast is very 
rarely seen, and it is not a little singular that a bird so hardy 
and so ready to adapt itself to circumstances should never 
remain to breed, although, according to Messrs Baikie and 
Heddle, it resides in Orkney throughout the year. An Unst 
man one winter brought me a Redbreast which he had killed 
in his corn-yard, and great was his disappointment on ascer- 
taining the name of his prize, he, poor fellow, having been 
under the impression that it must be a bird of extraordinary 
I value. 
I 
i THE REDSTART. 
I Ruticilla yhamiciirm. 
Until within the last few years, the Redstart was quite 
unknown in Shetland. Now, however, probably for reasons 
given in my remarks upon the Fieldfare (see page 61), it is 
gradually becoming more numerous, like many other inses- 
sorial birds. Almost every autumn, chiefly in October, several 
examples of it appear at Balta Sound, and I once observed it in 
a garden at Belmont. These are always females or young birds. 
Possibly they may occur earlier in the season, but so shy are 
they in their habits that it is difficult even to catch a glimpse 
of them until the first night’s frost has partly stripped the little 
trees of their leaves. In Orkney, also, the Redstart appears to 
be but an occasional visitor. 
