The GREY or SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER (_Butalis grisola_) is distinguishable
from its congeners by the following characteristics:--The plumage of
the male is deep grey upon all the upper part of the body, each feather
having a black shaft. The crown of the head is blackish grey, lightly
spotted; and the wing-feathers are tipped with light grey, thus forming
an indistinct border to the pinions. The entire under side is dirty
white, shaded with reddish yellow upon the sides, and streaked with
faint, dark grey, oval patches on the breast and sides of the throat.
The eye is brown, the beak and feet black; the colours in the plumage
of the female are paler. The back of the young is whitish, spotted with
grey, and marked with brown and reddish yellow; the under side is of a
whitish shade, spotted with grey upon the breast and throat. The male
bird is five inches and a half long and nine and a half broad; the wing
measures about three and the tail three and a half inches; the female
is only a few lines smaller than her mate. These lively, restless birds
inhabit all the countries of Europe except its extreme north, and are
especially numerous in the southern provinces, making their appearance
in pairs at the end of April or beginning of May; in England, about the
20th of May, when they at once commence breeding. They leave for warmer
latitudes early in the autumn. During their winter migrations they
visit the interior of Africa, and we ourselves have seen large numbers
sojourning for a time in the forests near the Blue Nile. In Europe they
seem to have no preference for any particular locality, but inhabit
highland or lowland regions, unfrequented forest tracts, or the gardens
and orchards of a populous district, with equal impartiality; trees
in the immediate vicinity of water, however, afford them the retreats
they most delight in, the sheltering branches enabling them to dart
down unobserved amongst the swarms of insects that disport themselves
over the surface of lakes and streams. Whilst thus engaged in watching
for prey, the Fly-catcher waves its tail to and fro, as its keen eye
selects the most tempting morsel, which is instantly swooped upon and
seized with a noisy snap of the beak, the bird returning at once to its
perch. Should its victim be too large to be swallowed entire, its body
is crushed against a tree in such a manner as to tear off the wings and
legs, and thus render it manageable. The bird thus disposes of flies,
gnats, butterflies, and dragon-flies, always catching them upon the wing.
When the coldness of the season compels it to subsist upon berries, these
latter are also obtained whilst in flight, by sweeping down towards the
tree and snatching them from the stalk _en passant_, without tarrying for
a moment to rest on the branch. The delicate feet of this species do not
permit it to hop from bough to bough, and its movements upon the ground,
to which it rarely descends, are feeble and awkward; but its flight, on
the contrary, is rapid, and extremely graceful, its course through the
air being diversified from time to time by a fluttering motion, produced
by alternately completely closing and broadly spreading its pinions and
tail.
The voice of the Fly-catcher may be described as a gentle, twittering
chatter. The call-note is monotonous, and in moments of terror or
excitement usually accompanied by violent motion of the wings. Solitary
individuals are seldom seen, and only during such time as the young are
still under parental guidance are they met with in parties; at other
times they are found in pairs, that keep apart from each other, and
exhibit most determined pertinacity in driving off all intruders from the
haunts they have appropriated. The nests are built in a great variety
of situations--in holes of rocks, walls, or roofs, in hollow trunks of
trees, or on a branch quite close against the main stem; brushwood or low
clumps of old willows, however, afford the seclusion these birds prefer.
Green moss, fine dry fibres, and similar materials are usually employed
in constructing the somewhat carelessly-formed domicile, which is warmly
lined with horsehair, wool, and feathers. The female alone undertakes
the whole labour of building. Instances are recorded of the nest of this
species being found in very odd situations. We have heard of one built
in the head of a garden-rake that had been left standing against a wall;
another was seen by Mr. Atkinson, on the angle of a lamp-post in one of
the streets of London; and a third, mentioned by both Jesse and Yarrell,
occupied a still more remarkable position--namely, within the crown of
one of the lamps in Portland Place, in London.
Should a couple not be disturbed, they produce but one brood of four or
five eggs in the year; these are laid in June, and have a blueish or
blueish green shell, very variously marked with light rust-red. Both
parents assist in the work of incubation, and hatch the eggs within a
fortnight. The young grow rapidly, but remain for a long time under the
care of their parents. A curious circumstance concerning this bird is
recorded by Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq., President of the Horticultural
Society, namely, that--"A Fly-catcher that had built in a stove in one of
the green-houses in the Society's gardens was always observed to leave
its nest when the thermometer stood at 72°, and resumed its place upon
the eggs as soon as the temperature fell again below that point."
Naumann mentions a little incident that came under his notice, that will
illustrate the utility of these birds in the great scheme of Nature. "A
boy in our village," he says, "succeeded in obtaining a Fly-catcher's
nest before the young were fledged, and placed the little family,
including the mother, in a room in his house. No sooner had the parent
bird ascertained that all attempts to escape were hopeless, than she at
once set to work to feed her young with the flies that were winging their
flight about the chamber. Of course before long all these were consumed,
and the boy was compelled to carry his prize to a neighbour's cottage,
in order that they might procure a supply of food. In this manner the
useful family went the round of the village, clearing the houses of vast
numbers of troublesome guests. My turn came last, and in gratitude for
the benefit received I succeeded in obtaining liberty for both mother and
nestlings."
Despite the immense services rendered by these birds, they and their
eggs are constantly destroyed by boys and men, who are too ignorant or
unthinking to know and appreciate the benefits they confer upon us; large
numbers also fall victims to the attacks of cats, martens, rats, and
mice. The Fly-catcher is easily reared, and soon so completely adapts
itself to captivity that it may be allowed to fly at large about a room.
If provided with a small box filled with sand, in which an upright stick
is placed with another laid across, it prefers perching upon the latter
to any other situation, and never in any way injures the furniture of the
apartment. One of these birds kept by ourselves was fed during several
successive winters upon rolls soaked in milk, and finely-minced meat;
upon this diet it became remarkably tame, and, although liberated every
spring, regularly returned to us at the end of the warm season.
* * * * *
The MOURNING FLY-CATCHERS (_Muscicapa_) differ from those members of
their family already described in the shortness of their beak, which
is almost triangular, in the inferior size of their wings, and in the
diversity of plumage that distinguishes the sexes.