SIDE I.IGHTS ON BIRDS 



gregate. One may wander for days in the wilder 

 and more desolate regions, and find woods and 

 mountains alike empty of bird-life, but draw near 

 the little cluster of saeters, rest awhile at the 

 road-side that runs through the village, and one 

 is often astonished at the number and variety 

 of species which may be seen. In the case of the 

 wheatears, the large stones which, in lieu of walls, 

 are set up at intervals on the road-sides to protect 

 the traffic are a constant attraction. From one 

 to another of these the wheatears flit as the 

 traveller proceeds, and as at each base there is 

 usually some cranny or crevice, here the wheatears 

 nest. Unlike the wagtails, which usually build at 

 some little elevation from the ground, the wheat- 

 ears prefer a hole into which they can run from 

 the level of the ground below, and in none of the 

 many nests which we examine, all containing 

 young, do we find an instance where flight to the 

 opening is necessary. 



One bird enters a crevice of this kind, and on 

 removing with difficulty a large stone, we find an 

 empty nest, from which the young have plainly 

 flown. We replace the stone, but on returning 

 some hours later we still find the bird in attend- 

 ance. As she continues from time to time to 

 re-enter the deserted retreat, we remove the 

 obstacle again, and examine the recess more 

 fully. Hidden behind the soiled and bedraggled 

 nest is a young wheatear, fully fledged and 

 normally well able to take its place in the outer 

 world ; but around one leg some thin, strong 

 fibres, or hairs, have become so securely twisted 

 that the bird is held captive to the spot. So 

 tightly has the ligature become bound to the 

 limb, probably in the nestling's earliest infancy, 

 that the whole of the foot has practically dis- 

 appeared, and the bird remains secured by the 



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