We have invariably found their nests in the hole of a tree, sometimes at a considerable height, occasionally 
near the surface of the ground, and, for two successive years, in the stump of a felled tree. In texture and 
formation the nest is very similar to those of the Greater Pettychaps, Blackcap, and Whitethroat, being but 
slightly put together, composed almost entirely of small fibrous roots and dried grass, always lined with a 
little hair, and generally a few decayed leaves on the outer side, but entirely without moss. Their eggs 
vary in number : we have found their nest with five, six, and now and then with seven ; their colour a pale 
green ; and they so greatly resemble the eggs of the Redstart, that it is frequently very difficult to distin- 
guish them, unless contrasted together ; they are, however, far from being so elegantly made, of a rounder 
form, and rather less, weighing from 23 to 30 grains. Should the weather he at all favourable, the males, 
soon after their arrival, will frequently sit for a considerable time on the decayed branch of a tree, constantly 
repeating their short, little-varied, although far from unpleasIng song, every now and then interrupted by 
the pursuit and capture of some passing insect. Their alarm-note is not very unlike the word chuck, which 
they commonly repeat two or three times when approached, and which readily leads to their detection. 
The manners and habits of the Pied Flycatcher have considerable affinity to those of the Redstart : they 
arrive about the same time, associate together, and often build in the same holes, for which they will 
sometimes contend. On one occasion we found a dead female Redstart in the nest of a Pied Flycatcher 
containing two eggs ; and at another time, when both species had nests within a few inches of each other, 
upon the Redstarts being removed, the female Redstart took forcible possession of the Flycatcher’s nest, 
incubated the eggs, and brought up the young.” 
“ Mr. Blackwall has recorded a very interesting instance in which a pair of Pied Flycatchers, imitating 
the more familiar habits of the other species, took up their residence, and for along series of years Incubated 
their eggs and nurtured their young in security, in a small aperture close by the portico to the principal 
entrance of his father’s residence in Denbighshire, undisturbed apparently by the frequent passing and 
repassing of its Inmates, until they were driven out by a swarm of bees, which took possession of the hole.” 
(Hewitson’s Eggs of British Birds, 2nd edit. vol. i. p. 77.) 
One of the nests sent to me by Admiral Mitford was exteriorly composed of dried grass, moss, and a 
quantity of spider’s web, whilst the interior was wholly composed of fine roots. 
M. Badly, in his ‘ Ornithologie de la Savoie,’ states that “ the Pied Flycatcher visits Switzerland and Savoy 
at the same time as the Collared species {Muscicapa albicolUs), but is much more common both in spring 
and autumn. It appears in couples, or In little flights of three, five, or six following each other, in which it 
is usually seen on the borders of small woods, along avenues bordered with trees or high bushes, and even 
in gardens and orchards. It evinces but little mistrust, and so little fear of man that it captures small 
insects flying immediately round him. There is no part of Savoy where it is so common during the period 
of Incubation as in the Lower Tarantaise and in the outskirts of Albertville. There is not a wood nor an 
orchard in which, at that time, it may not be found. It moreover occurs in Chamonix and Chablais, but 
never so numerously. Small numbers only occur in the basin of Chambery, except at the time of migration, 
when in certain years it is excessively common. During the period of incubation the male brings food to 
its companion, and sits in turn upon the eggs ; at all other times it does not cease to utter its song, 
which is animated, but very short, and almost entirely composed of piercing notes : its warning-cry and 
that of autumn are composed of the same notes, uttered one at a time, with an interval of some seconds 
between. At the end of September it is commonly seen at Chambery, upon the lines of the promenade 
of Verney, along the willows and the copses bordering the river Albanne, the torrent of Lalsse, and the 
neighbouring ditches from the Boise to Bourget. Its flesh is excellent in autumn, during which season it 
feeds not only on numerous flying insects, but also on the fruits or berries of the elder, briar, mulberry, 
and fig.” 
The young at first resemble the female, and in their change of plumage the males have all the inter- 
mediate shades from brown to black ; which circumstance has probably occasioned the belief that the male 
changes his plumage and becomes like the female in winter. 
The Plate represents a male, a female, and young, of the size of life. 
