. Our bird allies . e, for it takes its departure rather before theend of September; the Rev. F. O. Morris, however,records an instance in which the bird was seen aslate as the i6th of October. But, as it feeds whollyupon insects, never, so far as is known, making freewith fruit of any kind, it is really of more serviceduring the few months which it spends with us thanare many non-migratory birds during the whole ofthe year. Its persistency in insect-hunting is really mar-vellous, as may be judged from the fact, recorded^bya well-known naturalist, that, upon a day when placedunder close observ
. Our bird allies . e, for it takes its departure rather before theend of September; the Rev. F. O. Morris, however,records an instance in which the bird was seen aslate as the i6th of October. But, as it feeds whollyupon insects, never, so far as is known, making freewith fruit of any kind, it is really of more serviceduring the few months which it spends with us thanare many non-migratory birds during the whole ofthe year. Its persistency in insect-hunting is really mar-vellous, as may be judged from the fact, recorded^bya well-known naturalist, that, upon a day when placedunder close observation, a pair of these birds^ com- 85 OUR BIRD ALLIES. menced their work at twenty-five minutes to four—, before sunrise—in the morning, and did notcease from their labours until ten minutes before nine—or after sunset—in the evening. During the inter-vening period they fed their young no less than fivehundred and thirty-seven times, so that these twobirds, suj^posing them to have brought a single victim. The Spotted Flycatcher. only at each visit, and to have swallowed no morethan one hundred additional captives themselves,must have killed between four and five thousandinsects in the course of every week. Unless needlessly molested, the spotted flycatchercares little for the vicinity of man, and will hawkaway busily for flies within a few feet of the a general rule, it attaches itself to one particular TITMICE AND THRUSHES. 89 spot, returning to perch thereon after each of its fre-quent flights, and remaining constant to the samesituation throughout its residence in the pair of these birds which I often watched hadselected the poles of a lawn-tennis net by way ofwatch-towers, and, unless the courts were actually inuse, they might at any time be seen carrying on theirunceasing pursuit of prey. The nest of this flycatcher is generally placedeither against a wall—whence its builder is oftenknown by the alternative title of Wall Bird—or else
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1887
