The WAGTAIL FANTAIL (Rhipidura motacilloides), so called from its resemblance to the European Water Wagtail (Motacilla), is of a glossy greenish black upon the mantle, throat, and sides of the breast; a narrow, yellowish white streak passes above the eyes; and a triangular spot occupies the tips of the smaller wing-covers. The extremities of all the webs of the exterior tail-feathers and the entire under surface are pale yellowish white, the quills are brown, the eyes dark brown, the beak and feet black. Both sexes are alike in colour, and differ but slightly in size, their length being usually about five inches.
The Fantails are found extensively throughout Australia, where they frequent retired woodland districts, but are often seen in the immediate vicinity of men; indeed, so extremely tame and social are they that they by no means confine their visits to orchards and gardens, but enter freely into the houses, in search of flies and other insects. Their flight is undulatory in its course, is seldom long sustained, and never rises above the tops of the trees. Should the birds desire to reach a distant spot, they usually descend to the ground, over the surface of which their powerful legs enable them to run with great rapidity. The song of this species, though loud and shrill, is by no means unpleasing, and, should the moon be bright, is often heard after nightfall. The period of incubation commences in September, that is, in the early Australian spring, and each pair breeds twice, or, if the season be fine, thrice within the year. Their deep, cup-shaped nest is most artistically constructed of dry grass, bits of bark and roots, overlaid with spiders' webs, and lined with a soft bed of delicate fibres, grass, and feathers. Such trees as overhang the water are generally preferred for building purposes. The nest is placed very near the ground, and furnished with a strange-looking, long appendage, which is, no doubt, intended to act as a sort of balance; it is frequently placed in situations that are fully exposed to the violence of the sea and wind, but with such care are the materials for these beautiful structures selected to harmonise with the colour of the branch on which they are placed, that their discovery is always a work of difficulty. The brood consists of two or three dirty greenish white eggs, marked with black or reddish brown spots and streaks, either at the broad end or around the centre. During the whole time that the parents are occupied in the education of their young they exhibit the utmost courage and anxiety to prevent the approach of an enemy, and if alarmed express their uneasiness by a peculiar call somewhat resembling the sound produced by a child's rattle.
The TRUE FLY-CATCHERS (Muscicapæ) constitute a family of birds chiefly confined to Europe and Asia, and though unadorned with the flowing tails and glowing tints possessed by some of their near relations already described, comprise many beautiful species. All have elongate bodies, short necks, and broad heads. Their wings (in which the third quill exceeds the rest in length) are long, and their tails of moderate size, either incised or graduated at the extremity. Their short, strong, compressed beaks are broad at the base, and terminate in a slight hook; the upper mandible is furnished with a sharp ridge at its culmen, and the base of the bill is surrounded with bristles. Their soft lax plumage varies considerably in its coloration, according to the age and sex of the bird, and the young are easily recognisable by their spotted appearance.
Like most of the groups above described, all the members of this family frequent trees in preference to bushes, and rarely seek their food upon the ground. Should the day be rainy, they content themselves with berries; but in fine weather pass their time in actively giving chase to every unlucky insect that chances to attract their keen little eyes as they perch quietly among the branches, and, having secured the victim, they at once return to their lurking-place. During the period of incubation, the males utter a monotonous cry; but at other seasons their voices are very rarely heard. The nest built by the Fly-catchers is carelessly constructed, but furnished with a warm bed for the reception of the young, and is placed either in holes of trees or upon a branch, quite close to the stem. Both parents assist in hatching the four or five eggs that compose a brood, and tend the young until the season for migrating approaches, when they leave their native lands for more southern regions, often reaching Central Africa in the course of their winter journeyings.
THE GREY OR SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER.
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."