for some time after they have left the nest, and do not quit them until they arc perfectly able to take care 
of themselves. 
“ The Collared Flycatcher does not resort so frequently to the tops of trees as tha Muscicapa grisola, even 
during fine weather, but evinces a preference for the centre and lower portions of trees and shrubs, and 
bushes on the borders of ditches and rivers, where insects are particularly numerous during the heat of the 
day. In rainy weather it remains on the lower branches, whence it readily darts upon any insect that may 
be passing or fluttering near the ground. When obliged to resort to the ground for food, it alights on a 
stone, or any other slight elevation, and waits for its prey. Its actions ai-e very similar to those of 
M. grisola ; and it exhibits a similar air of stupidity and melancholy. Like that species it admits of a close 
approach. Its voice is very different, stronger, sharper, and seems to resemble the syllables pitt, pitt. 
During the breeding-season and the education of the young the male gives utterance to a warble as brief 
as that of M. atricapilla, mainly comjjosed of sharp notes, but not entirely devoid of sweetness. In autumn, 
when it is fat, its flesh is not to be despised, especially as at that season the bird feeds upon fruits, such as 
the mulberry and fig. 
“This species departs from Savoy before the commencement of the month of October; but a few of the 
young remain to the 8th or 12th of that month.” 
Besides possessing a broad white collar at the back of the neck, this species differs from M. atricapilla 
by having a much greater amount of white on the forehead and a more extensive band of Avhite on the 
primaries. Temminck states that the tail is Avholly black ; and such is the case with the specimen now 
before me ; but I suspect that in some specimens the outer tail-feathers are margined with white. The 
female, as Avill be seen on reference to the Plate, differs very considerably from the male. It is said that 
the young males are very similar to the female, or, if any difference occurs, they are rather darker. “ On 
the approach of spring the plumage of the young male blackens wherever it is ash-coloured in the female. 
One or both lateral tail-feathers are black, with white edges, but the latter disappear entirely in males 
upwards of twm years old. In Avinter there is no difference betAveen males and females ” (Bree). 
The Plate represents an adult male and either a female or a young male, of the size of life. The plant is 
the Ulmus major y Avith its seed-vessels. 
