The Dwarf Fly-catcher is found extensively throughout Poland and almost the whole of Germany, where it seems to prefer the shelter of the beech-woods, living principally in the summits of lofty trees, and rarely approaching the vicinity of man or descending to the ground. Its call is generally a loud piping note; but the song varies so considerably in different individuals as to be sometimes almost unrecognisable. The nest is placed either in a hole or upon the branch of a tree, at some distance from the trunk: it is formed of slender blades of grass vegetable fibres, green moss, or similar materials, lined with wool and hair. The brood consists of four or five eggs, of a greenish white, marked indistinctly with light rust-red patches. Both parents assists in the work of incubation, and exhibit extraordinary attachment to their young; the male bird, however, devotes himself principally to tending and entertaining his mate, whilst she undertakes the main part of the building operations. No sooner are the nestlings capable of supporting themselves than they leave their parents, and retire into the depths of the forests, where they remain until their winter migrations. From the day when the parent birds are separated from their families, their nature seems to undergo a complete change, and they at once assume a quiet, inactive deportment, that strongly contrasts with their previously sportive, busy habits. Count Gourcy, who reared many of these Dwarf Fly-catchers, tells us that they were readily tamed, and soon learnt to know him, welcoming his approach to the cage by flapping their wings and waving their tails above their heads. They bathed freely, and devoured insects in large quantities, eagerly snapping at any fly that was unlucky enough to approach too near. * * * * * The SILK-TAILS (_Bombycillæ_) possess a compact body, short neck, and moderate-sized head. Their wing, in which the first and second quills are longer than the rest, is of medium length, and pointed at the extremity; the tail is short, and composed of twelve feathers; the straight, short beak is broad, much compressed at its base, but raised and narrow at its tip, the upper mandible being longer and broader than the lower one, arched at its culmen, and slightly hooked at its extremity, which is visibly incised. The feet are short and powerful, and the exterior and centre toe connected by a fold of skin. The soft silky plumage upon the head is prolonged into a crest, and some of the wing and tail feathers terminate in horn-like laminæ. The coloration differs but little in the two sexes. THE EUROPEAN OR COMMON SILK-TAIL.