MUSCICAPA. 
It inhabits only the Great Namaquois country, and Teems 
confined to the borders of a river called by that people 
the Fifh-river; (which however mull not be confounded 
with a river of the fame name in CafFraria.) It haunts 
the forefts of mimofa-trees which run near that river al- 
moft in its whole extent. This bird is very nimble, and 
hard to be {hot, becaufe it prefers thofe trees whofe roots 
are wallied by the river, and molt frequently perches on 
the branches that overhang the water, by which means it 
procures an ample fubfiftence, as it feeds only upon little 
Hies that frequents moift places. It builds alfo a neft at 
the end of a branch near the water, fo that it is dangerous 
to get at them ; and Vaillant could procure this beautiful 
i'pecimen only by fending his fervant into the water, 
who fwam towards their retreats, and fhot them in that 
fituation. 
Of the clouded fly-catcher the bill is longer and lefs 
flatted than in the preceding fpecies, the legs are longer; 
it has no creft, yet the head is larger. The mandibles 
are not furnifhed with that abundance of ft iff hairs which 
are fo ufeful to the fly-catchers properly fo called, for fe- 
curing their prey, the common flies; for this fpecies feeds 
by choice upon thofe fmall flies or gnats which appear in 
vaft quantities together, and are therefore more eafily 
caught and retained than a common fly fingly on the 
wing, but which the common briftled fly-catchers attain 
fo dexterottfly. Vaillant therefore confiders this and the 
following as belonging rather to the genus Motacilla than 
to that of the Mufcicapa ; he fays they might very pro¬ 
perly follow the African warblers, under the title of 
“ Warblers or wagtails with long tails.” 
This fpecies is about the fize of the preceding, but ra¬ 
ther ftouter in the body. The tail is tapered, the two 
middle feathers being nearly four times the length of 
the reft; they are narrow at their origin, diminifhing in 
breadth to the end, where of courfe they are very thin, 
and have more flexibility than in the preceding, and fall 
into a bend with their length. The bill, feet, and nails, 
are black ; the eyes nut-brown. The female is fmaller 
than the male; and, where he is white, fhe is light brown, 
lighter ftill on the forehead, throat, and belly; the wings 
and tail are black as in the male, but not of fo deep a black. 
But fhe is diftinguifhed, as are all the females of long¬ 
tailed birds, by wanting the two long tail-feathers. Dur¬ 
ing winter the male alfo lofes his white colour and his two 
long feathers, and can hardly be diftinguifhed from the 
female. The neft is generally at the end of a branch 
hanging over the water; it conlilts of the tender Items 
and twigs of plants wrought in with mofs and the very 
thin fibres of the roots of plants. The eggs, five in num¬ 
ber, are green dotted with brown. The male ftiares with 
the female the work of incubation, and utters a very fmall 
note, tcherit. 
4. Mufcicapa loricaria, the black-breafted fly-catcher: 
black and white are the prevailing colours in this fpecies 
alfo, but differently difpofed. The head, back of the 
neck, mantle, and a large patch on the breaft, are en¬ 
tirely black; the throat and all the under parts of the 
body white; the fcapulars, back, and wings, brown ; but 
a large patch of white appears near the middle of each 
wing, formed from a part of fome of the great fcapular 
feathers, the laft wing-feathers and part of the outer barbs 
of the mid-quills; alfo a fmall white fpot on the rims of 
the three primary feathers, and another near the pinion. 
The lateral tail-feathers are of a fine black edged with 
white ; they are fomewhat tapered, but the two middle 
feathers exceed thefe in length by almolt three times the 
length of the body ; they are entirely white, and fo ex¬ 
tremely thin, as to be continually in motion by the leaft 
breath of wind ; and it is very difficult to procure a fpe- 
cimen with thefe feathers entire, as the leaft rubbing in¬ 
jures their barbs or breaks them. The bill, feet, and nails, 
are black; the iris brown. The bill is fhorter, not fo 
ltrong, the feet fhorter, and the tail lefs tapered, than in 
fhe preceding ; which will be futficient to diftinguifti the 
Vol. XVI. No. 1109. 
261 
two fpecies. The female wants the two long tail-feathers, 
as obferved before ; her breaft-plate is red inftead of black ; 
her black in every part is lefs dark, and the white fpot in 
the middle of the wing is not fo large. The young male 
refembles the female; and the adult male lofes his long 
feathers and black breaft in the rainy feulon, and is to be 
diftinguifhed from the female only by his fize. Vaillant 
found this fpecies near the tropic of Capricorn in the 
country of Coraquois and Kabobiquois ; he did not dif- 
cover its eggs or neft, nor the name it bears in thefe 
countries. 
5. Mufcicapa ftriata, the ftriped fly-catcher: length 
five inches ; bill black ; bafe of the under mandible yel- 
lowifh ; crown black ; hind head black and white ; throat 
yellowifh white, fpotted with brown ; breaft whitifli; Tides 
fpotted with black ; belly white ; back greenifh afh-co- 
lour, ftriped with black; rump inclining to afh-colour, 
and fpotted with black ; on the wing-coverts two bars ; 
the upper one yellowifh white, the lower white ; tail 
brown ; the outer feather has a fpot of white on the inner 
web; the fecond the fame, but fmaller; the third only 
margined with white within ; legs yellow. The female 
has the head of a greenifh yellow', ftreaked with {lender 
lines of black ; over the eyes a yellow line ; eyelids yel¬ 
low; throat, cheeks, and breaft, whitifli yellow, fprinkled 
wuth oblong fpots of brown, from the Tides of the mouth 
to the breaft; the reft as in the male, but greener on 
the back, and ftreaked more fparingly. Inhabits North 
America, vifiting Severn River only in the fummer feafon. 
6. Mufcicapa Martinisa, the Martinico fly-catcher: 
length fix inches : bill brown, befet with hairs at the 
bafe ; the feathers of the head, and reft of the upper parts, 
brown; thofe of the crowm long, and whitifli at their 
bafe, and, when erefted into a creft, appear mixed ; the 
under parts are afh-coloured ; quills brown, with whitifli 
edges ; tail brown ; legs afh-colour. Native of Martinico. 
7. Mufcicipa fufca, the black-cap fly-catcher : fize of 
the nightingale : bill black, briltly at the bafe ; top of the 
head black; the reft of the upper parts brown; the under 
of a yellowifh white ; quills brown ; tail the fame, and' 
forked ; legs black. The female has the top of the head 
not of fo deep a black. Thefe inhabit Carolina, where 
they breed : feed on flies and infefts ; and depart elfe- 
where in winter. 
8. Mufcicapa tyrannus, the fork-tailed fly-catcher: fize 
of the crefted lark : bill black ; at the bafe a few briftles; 
the upper part and Tides of the head black ; on the middle 
of the crown the feathers are yellow at the bafe ; hind 
part of the neck, back, rump, and fcapulars, cinereous ; 
upper tail-coverts black; all the under parts white; the 
fmaller wing-coverts cinereous ; the greater brown ; quills 
brown, the inner margins white ; tail black, greatly fork¬ 
ed, the outer feathers being nine inches and a quarter 
long, the middle ones not two ; all of them are black, but 
the outer one has the exterior web white for half its length 
from the bafe; legs black. In fome birds the yellow on 
the crown is wanting, and thefe are juftly fuppofed to be 
the females. Thefe inhabit Canada and Surinam. 
9. Mufcicapaforficata, the fwallow-tailed fly-catcher: 
length ten inches, of which the tail is five: bill ftraight, 
eight lines long, compreffed, and weak ; the colour of it 
black ; irides red ; the head and back light grey, with a 
tinge of red ; the under parts of the body white; beneath 
the wing red ; the fmaller wing-coverts afh-colour, with 
pale edges, in the form of fcales; the greater coverts 
marked in the fame manner, but blackifh ; the quills black, 
edged with grey. Tail greatly forked, the outer feathers 
five inches long, and the middle ones but two; thefe are 
all black, edged with rufous grey; legs black. Native of 
Mexico. 
10. Mufcicapa Surinama, the Surinam fly-catcher: upper 
parts black, the under white; tail rounded, and tipped 
with white. Inhabits Surinam. 
11. Mufcicapa fuliginoia, the brown fly-catcher. This 
is a fmall fpecies, fcarcely four inches long: the bill is 
3 X dufky-j 
