1 
THE EEDSTAET. 
handsome appearance, lie possesses a good temper, an active 
disposition, and a pleasing song; so that it must he allowed he 
is deservedly a favourite. 
He is about the same size as the linnet. The sides of the 
head are black; the throat black, speckled with white; the back 
| and belly a mixture of lurid red and grey, like the clouds at j 
sunrise ; the wings dark brown, and the tail red. The hen is | 
smaller than the male, and generally of a dull ashy grey, instead | 
of red and grey ; her breast is rust brown, speckled with white. 
Sometimes the redstart will build her nest beneath the eaves 
of houses, but more frequently in holes near the summit of 
trees. The nest is principally composed of grass, feathers, and | 
hair, and is very loosely put together. The eggs are from five i 
to seven in number, and of a pale sea green. If you want to 
secure redstart nestlings you must be at the nest within a fort- 
night of the hatching, for as soon as the tail feathers make 
their appearance the little things leave the nest and perch on a 
neighbouring branch, where they are attended to by the parent 
birds till they are able to shift for themselves. The nestlings 
should at first be fed on chopped mealworms and ants’ eggs, 
mixed with bread and milk. 
They may be captured with the same trap you would set for 
the nightingale. There is no better bait for the redstart than 
mealworms. In a wild state, they feed upon grubs, caterpillars, 
earthworms, &c. Soft berries of all kinds are much sought 
after by them. When the old birds are taken, they should be 
fed for the first day or two on elderberries, with a few meal- 
worms, and gradually introduced to the following mixture, 
which may be considered to be them principal food ever after- 
wards. Take six ounces of carrot, grate it fine; add to it a 
quarter of a pound of Trench roll that has been soaked for half j 
an hour in cold water, and squeezed as dry as possible ; then 
add six ounces of wheat-meal. Bray this well together in a ( 
mortar, or, what is the same thing, mash it very fine .in a 
basin, with an iron spoon. Mealworms may be mixed with 
i this paste. 
The Bedstaet’s Cage. — A “ pagoda ” cage is best for the 
j redstart, as in it his plumage may be seen to greater advantage 
j than in any other. 
Diseases oe the Bedstaet. — Dysentery is a disease common 
to the redstart. It may be known by the chalky tenacious 
j excrement adhering to the feathers beneath its tail. This 
excrement is of so acrid a nature as to inflame the surrounding 
92 
