various berries, or they glean small beetles from the leaves of the trees. Like all birds that live in a state of constant activity, they are extremely voracious, and devour enormous quantities of grasshoppers, horse-flies, butterflies, gnats, and other insects, always seizing their prey upon the wing, even should the victim be creeping on a leaf, or running over the ground. The nests are usually made in hollow trees, and are padded with a layer of moss and fibres, lined with feathers, wool, and hair. Should a hollow tree not be attainable, the nest is built upon some branch quite close to the trunk. The brood consists of five or six delicate-shelled, pale greenish eggs; these are incubated by both parents, and are hatched within a fortnight after they are laid. In three weeks' time the nestlings are fledged, but they remain for a considerably longer period under parental care and guidance. In some countries boxes are often placed in gardens in order to attract the breeding pairs; and so tame do the families thus reared become, that they will even allow the boxes to be moved from one place to another, without either leaving them or testifying any uneasiness. When caged, they soon attach themselves to those who feed them, and will take flies from the hand: Nightingales' food suits them best when they are subjected to a life of confinement. Large numbers of these useful birds are caught by the Italians, in a variety of nets and snares, during the time of their autumn migrations, and hundreds of them are exposed for sale as dainty morsels in every market-place. In ancient times Fly-catchers were sent from Cyprus to Italy prepared in spice and vinegar, and closely packed in pots or small casks. THE DWARF FLY CATCHER. The DWARF FLY-CATCHER (_Erythrosterna parva_) has been selected as the representative of a distinct group, on account of its comparatively powerful beak and high tarsi. The length of this bird is about five and its breadth about eight inches. Its plumage is so diversified as to have given rise to many errors concerning the number of species. During the spring the upper part of the body of the adult male is of brownish grey, deepest in shade towards the head; the feathers of the larger wing-covers and the posterior quills have a light edge; the chin, throat, lower and upper breast are rust-red; the rest of the under side dirty white; the primary quills are of a blackish brown-grey, enlivened by a light border. In the young male the reddish brown upon the throat is paler than in the adult bird, and all the colours in the plumage of the female are fainter and greyer than in that of her mate. All have dark brown eyes, and black beaks and feet.