. An illustrated manual of British birds . r branch, whenceit darts upon some fly or gnat, returning with a graceful sweep tothe spot it has just quitted. It can even manage a tolerably largemoth, such as the yellow underwing ; and in the autumn, it has beenknown to feed on berries, especially those of the mountain-ash, towhich so many species of birds are partial. The song is very faintand low, and the call-note is a ztchick. The adult has the crown light brown, with dark streaks down thecentre of the feathers; upper parts hair-brown, slightly darker onthe wings and tail, and paler on the mar
. An illustrated manual of British birds . r branch, whenceit darts upon some fly or gnat, returning with a graceful sweep tothe spot it has just quitted. It can even manage a tolerably largemoth, such as the yellow underwing ; and in the autumn, it has beenknown to feed on berries, especially those of the mountain-ash, towhich so many species of birds are partial. The song is very faintand low, and the call-note is a ztchick. The adult has the crown light brown, with dark streaks down thecentre of the feathers; upper parts hair-brown, slightly darker onthe wings and tail, and paler on the margins of the wing-coverts andsecondaries; chin and under parts dull white, with brown streakson the throat, breast and flanks ; bill dark brown; legs and feetblackish. The sexes are alike in plumage. Length 56in.; wing33 in. The young are very much spotted; the feathers of theupper parts have pale centres with broad dark margins, and thewing- and tail-coverts are conspicuously tipped with buff, as are alsothe secondaries. 151. THE PIED FLYCATCHER. MusciCAPA atricapilla, Linnteus. Although far less numerous than the preceding species, the PiedFlycatcher is a regular visitor to Great Britain, arriving in the latterpart of April and returning southward in autumn. Large numbershave sometimes been observed during the first week in May on thePentland Skerries, the Isle of ALay, and Flamborough and Spurn inYorkshire; and a return migration has been noticed in August andSeptember; while in the latter month immense flights have passedover Heligoland. During the breeding-season it is a very localspecies, and although nests are said to have been found occasion-ally in Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Hants, Surrey, Middlesex, Oxford,Gloucester and some of the other southern counties, its favouritehaunts are rather in the north and west. In portions of Wales,such as Brecon, Denbigh and Merioneth, and in the English coun-ties of the Welsh border, it nests annually ; also in Lancashire,
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