A not infrequent error with regard to the red-breast may be pointed out here. Many people seem to suppose that the female is less brilliantly coloured than her mate. As a matter of fact this is not so; what are generally regarded as females of this species are the dull, spotted young, which, as we have already pointed out, assume this peculiar livery throughout the tribe.
No less common in Britain, during the summer months at least, are the Wheat-ears, Stone-chats, Whin-chats, and Red-starts. Small and prettily coloured species, these are all insect-eaters, and, with the exception of the wheat-ears, lay blue eggs, deposited in somewhat coarsely constructed nests, placed on or near the ground; or in holes in ruins, trees, or walls, in the case of the red-starts; or in burrows or under ledges of rock, as among the wheat-ears, which lay white eggs.
The bird commonly known as the Hedge-sparrow is a close ally of the Thrush Family, having nothing to do with the sparrows proper—which are finches—as its name would imply.
Photo by G. Watmough Webster & Son] [Chester.
STONE-CHAT.
A resident and generally distributed British bird.
Another nearly related form is the Dipper, or Water-ouzel. By no means brilliantly coloured, it is nevertheless an exceedingly interesting bird, and one never met with away from mountain streams. The group has a wide distribution, occurring in suitable localities in Europe, Asia, and the Rocky Mountains of America, and extending from Colombia to Peru and Tucuman. Squat in form, with rounded wings and short tail, the ouzel seeks the greater part of its food on the bottom of swiftly running streams. It is everywhere, writes Dr. Sharpe of the commoner of the two British species, a shy and watchful bird, and, except in the breeding-season, appears to be solitary. By patient watching near the dipper's haunts, however, it is possible to observe the bird scudding over the surface of the water with a rapid flight and a vigorous beating of the wings, something like that of a kingfisher, until it alights on a rock or large stone in the middle of the stream. Its white breast then stands out in bold relief, and, after pausing for a moment, the bird commences to edge to the side of the rock, and either walks deliberately into the water, or disappears suddenly beneath the surface, seeking its food at the bottom of the stream, in the shape of larvæ, caddis-worms, water-beetles, and small snails.
The Wrens are probably near allies of the Dippers. The family includes a number of species of small birds, most largely represented in the New World, but distributed widely over the Old World also. Two occur in the British Islands: of these, one, the Common Wren, is found throughout Europe, and occurs also in Northern Africa, Asia Minor, and North Palestine; whilst the other, the St. Kilda Wren, is only found on the island from which it takes its name.
Considerations of space compel us to pass over three or four families, of comparatively little interest to any save the scientific ornithologist, in favour of the Fly-catchers and Swallows.