Of BIRDS* 
2i5 
Seating, are equally surprising. — But its agreeable quali- 
ties are counterbalanced by the mischievous inclination 
it has to gnaw whatever it can reach. 
The food commonly given to these birds, consists of 
hemp-seed, nuts, fruit of every kind, and bread soaked 
in wine; they would prefer meat, but that kind of aliment 
has been found to make them dull and heavy, and to 
cause their feathers to drop off after some time. It has 
been observed, that they keep their food in a kind of 
pouch, from which they afterwards throw it up in the 
same manner as ruminating animals. 
Redstart. [Muscicapa Rutticilla.W\\.I t \. 35.') This 
bird measures rather more than five inches in lengths 
Its bill and eyes are black; its forehead is white; cheeks, 
throat, fore part and sides of the neck black, which co- 
lour extends over each eye; the crown of the head, hin- 
der part of the neck, and the back are of a deep blue 
gray; in some subjects, probably old ones, this gray is al- 
most black; its breast, rump, and sides are of a fine glow- 
ing red, inclining to orange colour, which extends to all 
the feathers of the tail, excepting the two middle ones, 
which are brown; the belly is white; feet and claws black. 
The female differs considerably from the male, her 
colours are not so vivid: the top of the head and back 
are of a gray ash colour, and the chin is white. 
The redstart is migratory; it appears about the mid- 
dle of April, and departs in the latter end of September, 
or beginning of October; it frequents old walls and rui- 
nous edifices, where it makes its nest, composed chiefly 
of moss, lined with hair and feathers. It is distinguish- 
ed by- a peculiar quick shake of its tail from side to side, 
on its alighting on a wall or other place. Though a wild 
and timorous bird, it is frequently found in the midst of 
cities, always chusing the most difficult and inaccessible 
places for its residence: it likewise builds in forests, in 
holes of trees; or in high and dangerous precipices. The 
female lays four or five eggs, not much unlike those of 
the hedge sparrow, but somewhat longer. These birds 
feed on flies, spiders, the eggs of ants, small berries, soft 
fruits, and such like. 
