WHEATEAR 27 



and lined with a little hair and wool. From the ground- 

 line to the nest-cavity the distance was a good elbow's 

 length, and the cavity itself was a cul-de-sac branching 

 out of the main hole. This clutch was of six eggs and 

 they were of a much sturdier build than those I had the 

 day before yesterday. Wheatears are called ' Wagtails ' 

 by the boys." 



Mr. T. Hepburn, in his notes in the Birds of Nortli 

 Kent, 1904, says that between Woolwich and Rochester 

 " the Wheatear is fairly common in the eastern portion 

 of the district during spring and summer, a few pairs 

 also nesting in holes near the sea-wall, but is seldom to 

 be seen any distance away from it ; it, in fact, uses the 

 sea-wall as a vantage ground, flitting along in front of 

 the intruder. A full-fledged family, last June (1908), were 

 still making use of their nesting-hole as a retreat, long 

 after they were able to fly. In the autumn, family 

 parties of old birds and the young of the year are very 

 numerous." 



We have seen the bird on the hills above Trotterscliffe 

 and the district. Mr. J. H. Allchin saw a flock passing 

 over Maidstone early in March, 1906. It is a visitor 

 to the Bethersden district according to Captain J. D. 

 Cameron. 



In the report of the immigration of summer residents 

 in the spring of 1905, we find the arrivals of the Wheat- 

 ear are given as follows : April 2, 1905, Kent, and May 8, 

 1905, Kent Lights (many), but the bird is observed much 

 earlier than the above dates in many parts of Kent, accord- 

 ing to all the above observers. 



