290 BULLETIN 196, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



specimens on May 26 and 28 but does not state definitely whether 

 any had been observed previously. He stresses the "curiously irregu- 

 lar distribution of this bird in Alaska in different seasons," its appear- 

 ances in numbers in particular localities in one year and complete 

 absence in another. This is characteristic of many species of birds 

 in Arctic and sub- Arctic countries. 



Dall and Bannister (1869) speak of wheatears being seen on arrival 

 in Alaska in "large flocks," but probably this should be understood as 

 meaning no more than a large number in one place. In Europe, 

 although considerable numbers may be met with on migration in 

 places near the coast, they are generally scattered and show little 

 evidence of real gregariousness. Moreau (1928) notes that in Egypt 

 "in spring males preponderate in the earlier half of the migration, 

 but there is no striking segregation of the sexes at any time," and 

 this would seem to hold good as a general statement. 



Courtship. — The usual display of the wheatear takes the form of 

 hoppings and bowings round the female and a common posture is with 

 the body somewhat tilted forward and the tail fanned so as to show 

 off its conspicuous pattern of white and black. Bertram Lloyd (1933) 

 has described a case in which a female was being courted by two 

 males, one of which, when all three flew off together, continued his 

 tail-fanning display in the air, fluttering along about 15 feet above the 

 turf and singing spasmodically the while. The observer writes of this 

 as an aerial display flight, but as there is no other record of similar 

 behavior it seems rather doubtful whether it can be properly so called, 

 if the term is understood to imply a regular feature of the bird's 

 behavior; it seems not improbable that the carrying over of the tail- 

 fanning of the more usual ground display into flight may have been 

 something of an aberration under stress of excitement. Another 

 performance of a paired male accompanying his mate as she prospected 

 rabbit holes for a suitable nest site is recorded by Miss E. L. Turner 

 (1911), who says: "He would rise into the air some distance then 

 drop like a stone within a hairsbreadth of the ground, much after the 

 manner of an ecstatic lapwing. When this display of daring ceased 

 to impress, he would hop round her, suddenly turn his back and spread 

 out his tail feathers so that the white parts were brought into view." 



Occasionally under the influence of extreme excitement a male 

 wheatear has been observed to behave in a remarkably frenzied and 

 ecstatic manner, as has been vividly described by Bertram Lloyd, 

 already quoted: 



Their chosen ground was a rough shallow trench in the turf, some eight to ten 

 yards long, with a number of rabbit-scrapes round about it. Actually this "trench" 

 was merely a rough irregular patch about a foot wide and three inches deep, 

 where the turf had been dug out. Twice as I watched, the male Wheatear rose 





