PASSES ES. MVSCICA P/DJ'. House, in the parish of Constantine, near Falmouth; and
M u sc ica pa pa rv a , Bechstein*.
THE RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER.
A m o n g the many birds of central or eastern Europe whose
occasional appearance in the British Islands has been lately
detected by the daily-increasing number of ornithological
observers, few have greater right to be included in this work
turn the little Flycatcher above figured—three examples,
one of which was accompanied by a mate, having been
procured. The announcement of the occurrence in England
of this species was simultaneously made by Mr. George
Gray m the ‘Annals and Magazine of Natural History’ for
March, 1863 (3rd ser. xi. p. 228), and by Mr. Rodd in the
Zoologist’ (p. 8444) for the same month. The bird, after
having been seen for some days, was shot on the 24tli of
< anuary m that year by Mr. Copeland, of Carwytlienack
* Gemeinnützige Naturgeschichte Deutschlands, iv. p. 505 (1 7 9 5 ).
this gentleman, writing a few days later to Mr. Rodd, says:
—“ We first observed it on a dead holly tre e ; this tree and
the ground around the house were its favourite resort. I t
was particularly active, skimming the grass to within about
a foot, then, perching itself, darted occasionally with a toss,
resting either on a shrub or the wire fencing. There is
another in the neighbourhood, for which a vigilant watch
will be kept. I saw it a few days back in a plantation which
is four hundred yards from my house.” The specimen
killed, which proved to be a female, was sent in the flesh
to the British Museum, where its remains still are, the head
having been unfortunately destroyed by mice, but quite
sufficient was left to admit of the determination of the
species by authorities so high as Mi-. George Gray and Mr.
Gould. The second example observed by Mr. Copeland was
not obtained; hut in the October following another bird of
this species was killed, in company with some young Pied
Flycatchers, upon one of the isles of Scilly, by Mr. Augustus
Pechell and a nephew of Mr. Rodd’s. This was a
young male, as recorded by the gentleman last named
(Zool. p. 8841 and Ibis, 1864, p. 131), and is now in his
collection. On the 5th of November, 1865, as announced
by Mr. Rodd (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 3rd ser. xvi. p. 447,
and Zool. s.s. p. 31), a bird of this species again appeared
in Scilly, this time on Treseo Island, and, after having been
carefully watched by Mr. Pechell and Mr. John Jenkinson,
it was killed, but so much injured by shot that its sex could
not be determined.
The geographical distribution of this species when compared
with that of others is somewhat exceptional. Though
not an uncommon summer-visitor to some parts of the
continent, the general line of its migration does not appear
to be in the usual north and south direction, but strongly
inclined from north-west to south-east; and the birds which
breed in the central and eastern countries of Europe, instead
of retiring, as do most of our summer-migrants, across the
Mediterranean to Africa, would seem to turn their flight
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