rnt Water Ouzel. BIRDS.- 
■The Spotted Flycatcher. 
33.3 
feathers of the wings and short tail black. It is found 
in gardens and groves, usually in small flocks, feeding 
on the ground, principally upon beetles. 
THE GIANT PITTA {Pitta ccerulea), a native of 
Sumatra, one of the largest species of this group, 
measures about nine inches in length, and is of a 
brilliant blue colour above, with the top of the head, 
a collar, and the quills of the wings black ; the throat 
is whitish, and all the rest of the lower surface has a 
brownish tint. 
THE HILL BLACEBIBD {Myiopkonus cmruleus), a 
common bird on the Himalayas, is of a metallic blue- 
black colour ; and, from this and its fine song, it has 
been compared by the English residents in India with 
our Blackbird. Its musical whistle is said by Mr. Vigne 
to be the sweetest note heard in the hills. Its nest is 
built upon the ledges of some nearly inaccessible rock, 
and is composed of moss and lichens, lined with fine 
roots. In its habits this species greatly resembles the 
European Blackbird. 
THE 'WATER OUZEL {Cinclus aquaticus), sometimes 
called the Dipper, is now generally regarded as being 
most nearly allied to the Ant-thrushes and Pittas, not- 
withstanding the peculiarity of its habits and mode of 
life. This singular bird, which is an inhabitant of 
Europe, and is found not uncommonly in this country, 
is about eight inches in length, of a dark grey colour 
above, with the head and neck brown ; and brownish- 
red beneath, with the throat white. It resides in the 
vicinity of water, exhibiting a decided preference for 
the clear streams and lakes of mountainous districts ; 
and it is in the water, and not on its banks, that the 
bird seeks its food. The older naturalists supposed 
that this bird walked into the water, carrying down 
with it a supply of air for respiration during its sub- 
mersion ; but the impossibility of this is proved by the 
fact that the bird does not walk even on land, whilst 
the lightness of its body would prevent its either walk- 
ing or hopping at the bottom of the water. From the 
observations of the late Mr. M‘Gillivray, it would 
appear that the aquatic progression of the "Water 
Ouzel is effected by the agency of the wings ; the 
bird actually flying under water, as is the case with 
many of the short-winged swimming birds. On rising 
to the surface, the Water Ouzel swims well, and can 
dive again without rising from the water. The food 
of this bird consists of aquatic mollusca and insects, 
and perhaps also of the spawn and young of fishes. 
The nest is made of moss, completely domed over, so 
as to have only a small aperture for the ingress and 
egress of the bird. It is placed in some convenient 
situation about the bank of the stream or lake, and 
contains five or six pure white eggs. The birds rear 
two or three broods in the year. 
Family III.— MUSCICAPIDiE. 
The birds of this family are characterized by having a 
rather short but broad and depressed bill, with the gape 
very wide, running back nearly as far as the e 3 ^es, and 
fringed on each side at the base with long and strong 
bristles springing from the upper mandible. In these 
respects they present a certain amount of resemblance 
to the fissirostral birds, as also in the small develop- 
ment of the legs, which are generally short and slender. 
Their wings are generally long. 
These birds are generally of small size, and strictly 
insectivorous in their habits, although some of the 
laVger species of the family kill and devour the smaller 
vertebrate animals. The English name of Flycatchers 
applied to the best known species, indicates that these 
feed principall}’' upon flying insects, and may also be 
regarded as indicating the mode in which the ty[)ical 
species of the family capture their prey. The birds 
are in the habit of perching upon some post or rail, or 
on the branch ol a tree, watching for the passage of 
insects, in pursuit of which they immediately dash off, 
returning again to their original position when the 
capture is effected, there to look out for more. This 
mode of feeding is, however, by no means universal in 
the family, nor is it peculiar to the birds of this group. 
We have already had occasion to notice the prevalence 
of the same habit in several insectivorous birds ; and 
the writer has even seen it practised by the common 
house-sparrow. 
THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER {Muscicapa griseola) 
— Plate 10, fig. 35. — Of the typical genus of this family 
we have two British species, and of these the Spotted 
Flycatcher is by far the most abundant. It is a summer 
visitor to this country, and one of the latest in arriving 
here, usually making its appearance in the south about 
the 20th of May ; but, in the course ol the summer, it 
diffuses itself very generally over the whole island, and 
may be seen almost everywhere taking up its position of 
observation upon a post or paling, and performing its 
short irregular flights in pursuit of passing insects. 
This bird is sometimes accused of devouring cherries 
and raspberries, but probably without cause; its object 
in visiting these fruits, when ripe, being no doubt to 
feed upon the flies which are attracted by them, as no 
remains of fruit have ever been found in its stomach. 
The nest of this bird, which is supposed to be gene- 
rally made by the female alone, is usually placed in the 
side of a faggot stack, a hole in a wall, or upon a beam 
in some outhouse, but sometimes in trees, especially 
when trained against a wall. The bird sometimes, 
however, chooses singular situations in which to con- 
struct her dwelling ; one nest has been built upon the 
head of a garden-rake left accidentally standing against 
a wall ; another in a bird-cage ; another, recorded by 
Mr. Atkinson, on the angle of a lamp post in one of the 
streets of Leeds; and another, mentioned by both Jesse 
and Yarrell, in a still more remarkable place — namely, 
within the crown on the top of one of the lamps in 
Portland Place in London. The nest is cup-shaped 
and neatly constructed of moss, roots, and grass, usually 
lined with hair, wool, and feathers. The eggs, which 
are four or five in number, are of a bluish-white colour, 
with pale red spots. 
THE PIED FLYCATCHER {Muscicapa atricapilla), 
which is also a summer visitor to Britain, is compara- 
tively a rare bird in tliis countiy, and is most abundant 
in the lake district of Cumberland and Westmoreland. 
It is rather a smaller bird than the preceding, mea- 
suring little over five inches in length ; the male is black 
above and white beneath, with a spot above the base 
