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SYLVIADE. 
Redstart, although having nearly the same construction. The 
first brood is hatched the beginning of May, and another 
frequently succeeds, which flies in June. Like some other 
species, whose place of incubation is a building or rock, these 
birds frequently return to the same spot year after year. 
In flight these Redstarts are quick and agile, sporting and 
tumbling over in the air, and rising and falling at plea¬ 
sure, with great quickness and grace. They are frequently 
seen gambolling on the roofs of houses, with their young 
family, but chase away all intruders. In walking, these 
birds are very erect, and bend their legs but little; they 
frequently wag their tails, like the common Redstart, and 
dip, or curtsy, in the manner of the redbreast; especially 
if an enemy approaches, or they see anything that particularly 
attracts their attention, when these actions are continually 
repeated, and accompanied with their cry of alarm. 
In autumn these birds frequent gardens, in search of elder¬ 
berries and insects, which they seek among vegetables, or in 
fresh-turned ground. The entire length of Tithy’s Red¬ 
start is six inches and a quarter ; the expanse ten and a half; 
the tail-feathers are two inches and a half, and extend one 
inch beyond the closed wdngs. The first quill is very short, 
the second half an inch shorter than the third, and equal to 
the seventh : the fourth and fifth are the longest. The beak 
is thin, and awl-shaped, and compressed towards the tip ; five 
lines in length, two lines broad at the base, and one and a 
half high; the nostrils are oval, half covered with a membrane, 
and partly concealed with hairs. The legs are slender, the 
toes thin, and the claws very sharp. The tarsus measures one 
inch, the middle toe and claw seven lines and a half. 
The adult male, in spring and summer, is of a fine bluish 
slate colour on the upper parts of the body, including the 
forehead and crown of the head, the back and scapulars : the 
lower part of the breast and belly are the same colour. The 
