The Redstart. BIRDS. The Stonecuat. 325 
also a great favourite, both on account of its familia- 
rity, and for the beauty of its song. As a song-bird it 
is often kept in a cage, and the Hindoos, according to 
Mr. Hodgson, are very ibnd of setting these tame birds 
to fight, which they do with remarkable courage and 
pertinacity. The pugnacity of the birds is so great, 
that the birdcatchers take advantage of it in order to 
capture the wild males. Thej'’ take a tame male 
perched on the finger, to the nearest garden or grove; 
the bird utters his call at his master’s bidding, when 
any wild male within hearing answers the challenge, 
and the tame bird being slipped, a desperate combat 
ensues, in the course of which the bii'dcatcher is able 
to secure his prize ; the tame bird being even said to 
assist in the capture of his adversary, by holding him 
in his bill and claws. 
THE BLUEBIRD (Sialia sialis), partly takes the 
place of the Robin in the United States of America, 
to which he is a summer visitor, passing the winter in 
the West Indies and the tropical parts of the American 
continent. In his form and habits the Bluebird exhi- 
bits a great resemblance to the Robin, and like him has 
a bright red breast, but the colour of the upper surface 
is light blue. He is a bold, familiar, and pugnacious 
bird, and during the summer pours forth a song which 
is described by American naturalists as exceedingly 
sweet. The nest of this species is built in the hole of 
a tree or some similar situation, and the eggs are five 
or six in number, and of a pale blue colour. The food 
of the Bluebird consists principally of insects and 
spiders ; but in the autumn it also eats fruits. 
THE REDSTART {Kuticilla phcenicura), which is 
nearly allied to the Robin, is a summer visitor to this 
country, where it is generally distributed, but by no 
means abundant. In its general habits it resembles 
the Robin, and like it jerks its rather long tail up and 
down at every movement ; it is from this habit and the 
red colour of the tail that it has received the name of 
Redstart. The male Redstart is lead-grey above, and 
pale chestnut beneath, with the throat and face black, 
the forehead white, and the tail reddish chestnut ; the 
female has neither black nor white on the head, and 
her colours are paler than those of the male. The 
whole length of the bird is rather more than five inches. 
The Redstart is an active and lively bird ; it haunts 
woods, hedge-rows, and orchards, and is said to be very 
partial to old walls covered with ivy. Its food consists, 
like that of the Robin, of worms, insects, spiders, and 
fruits. Its song is soft and sweet. The nest is com- 
posed of moss and lined with hair and feathers, and 
placed sometimes in a hollow tree or a hole in a wall, 
sometimes behind the trained branch of a fruit-tree, 
and sometimes on the ground. The females usually lay 
from four to six eggs, which are of a uniform greenish- 
blue colour ; and the birds sometimes produce two 
broods in a season. Two other species, the Blue- 
throated (if. suecica), and the Bi.ACic Redstart 
(if. I'ithys), have been taken in this country. 
THE SCARLET-BREASTED ROBIN {PetroLca multi- 
color) is an iidiabitant of the whole southern part of 
Australia, where it is known to the colonists generally 
under the familiar English name of the Robin. The 
male is black, with the forehead, some bands on the 
wings, and the belly white, and with the breast scarlet ; 
the female is pale brown, with the breast red. The 
whole length of the bird is about five inches. The song 
of the male somewhat resembles that of the English 
Robin, but is weaker. The Scarlet-Breasted Robin 
dwells amongst the woods and brushes skirting the 
plains, and builds its nest usually in the hollow of a 
tree ; the eggs are three or four in number, and it 
breeds two or three times in the season. 
THE FLAME-BREASTED ROBIN (Petroica pliccniced) 
closely resembles the preceding species, whose place it 
takes in Van Diemen’s Land. This bird is, however, 
more terrestrial in its habits than the Scarlet-breasted 
Robin, but builds its nest in the same way in the hollow 
of a tree. 
THE PIED ROBIN {Petroica hicolor). — Besides the 
preceding and several other red-breasted species, the 
genus Petroica includes some birds in which black and 
white, or brown, are the prevailing colours. The Pied 
Robin, which is one of these, exhibits an elegant con- 
trast in the deep black and pure white of its plumage ; 
it is distributed in most parts of the Australian con- 
tinent, living principally in the open country, but 
selecting those plains which are studded over with 
large trees. It passes much of its time on the ground 
in j>ursuit of the insects on which it feeds. 
THE ROCK WARBLER {Orujma ruhricata). — Of this 
singular little bird, which is an inhabitant of New South 
Wales, Mr. Gould gives the following account : — “ Its 
usual places of resort are the neighbourhood of water- 
courses and stony, rocky gullies. So exclusively, in fact, 
is it confined to such situations, that it never visits the 
forests, nor have I ever seen it perching on the branches 
of trees ; indeed, it would seem to have an aversion to 
so doing, as it does not even resort to them as a resting- 
place for its nest, but suspends it to the ceilings of 
caverns and the under-surface of over-hanging rocks in 
a manner that is most surprising. The nest, which is of 
an oblong, globular form, and composed of moss and 
other similar substances, is suspended by a narrow 
neck, and presents one of the most singular instances 
of bird architecture that has yet come under my notice.” 
This ingenious little architect is of a dull brown colour, 
reddish beneath, with the throat grey ; its total length 
is about five inches. 
THE STONECHAT {Saxicola ruhicola) is a permanent 
resident in Britain, where it resides upon furzy com- 
mons and heaths. It is rather smaller than the Red- 
breast, and has the head, throat, and back black, the 
breast chestnut, and the belly yellowish-white. The 
sides of the neck are white. The female is lighter in 
colour than the male. The Stonechat is an active and 
lively bird, constantly flitting from one bush or stone 
to another, and dashing off in pursuit of passing insects 
which it captures in the air, all the time keeping up a 
continual twittering from which its name of Stonechat or 
Stonechatter is derived. Its song is agreeable, though 
short. The nest is built on or close to the gi-ound 
under the shelter of a bush ; it is composed of moss and 
grass. The eggs are five or six in number, greyish- 
blue, speckled with reddish-brown at the larger end. 
THE WHINCHAT {Saxicola ruhetra) resembles the 
preceding species in its general habits, and in its par- 
