3 22 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
and in Norway, according to Professor Collett, it is caught 
in snares set for Thrushes, and baited with mountain-ash 
berries. 
The song of the Flycatcher is seldom heard, and has a very 
low tone. As a rule, the only sound it is heard to utter is its 
call-note, which resembles the sound of two stones being knocked 
together, a kind of “ it-chkk ” : this it frequently utters as it 
sits on its perch. 
Nest. — Made of dry grass an 1 moss, often principally com- 
posed of the latter, thickly lined with horse-hair and fine roots. 
The outside is often decorated with cobwebs and lichens, which 
causes the nest to assimilate so closely to its surroundings that 
it is difficult to discover. A nest which we found in 1892 in a 
crevice in the bark of a birch-tree, about twelve feet from the 
ground, had the outside decorated with bits of birch-bark, so as 
to render it exactly like the rest of the tree. 
Eggs. — From four to six in number. The ground-colour 
varies from stone-colour to light green, but in each case the 
eggs are thickly spotted and blotched with reddish-brown, these 
spots mixed up with underlying spots and blotches of grey. 
The markings are often collected near the larger end of the 
egg, but are sometimes so thickly distributed as to hide 
the* ground-colour. The shape varies considerably, some 
of the eggs being very long. Axis, 07-0.8 inch ; diam., 
0-55-0-6 
THE PIED FLYCATCHERS. GENUS FICEDULA. 
Ficedula , Sundev, Av. Meth. Tent., p. 23 (1872). 
Type, F. atricapilla (Linn.). 
The Pied Flycatchers, although not differing much in form 
from the typical Flycatchers, yet possess such peculiarities as 
to warrant their separation under a separate genus. The sexes 
differ markedly in colour. The nest is placed in holes of trees, 
and the eggs are blue. 
