Birds of Britain 

 THE ROCK THRUSH 



Monticola saxatilis (Linnaeus) 



The Eock Thrush is an Eastern species that breeds 

 sparingly from Central Europe eastwards through Southern 

 Siberia and North China, and southwards in Greece, the 

 Balkans, Asia Minor, and Persia. It has only once been 

 obtained in our islands, namely in Hertfordshire in 1843. 



The male is greyish blue on the head, neck, and 

 mantle ; white on the rump, tail and under parts bright 

 chestnut. The female is speckled brown above, chin and 

 throat whitish, breast and under parts buff mottled with 

 brown. Length 7"5 in.; wing 4*75 in. 



THE WHEATEAR 



Saxicola oenanthe (Linnasus) 



Before the March winds have subsided, and while the 

 trees and all vegetation are still in their winter sleep, the 

 first of the Wheatears appears in the south-west of England. 

 A lively and sprightly little chap is he, as he sits on a 

 tussock of grass or on a fence, jerking his tail, or darting 

 with a quick sharp flight to some other elevation, showing, 

 as he does so, his conspicuous white rump, while his dark 

 wing feathers and tail and grey back prevent the passer-by 

 from mistaking him for any other species. He is a bird of 

 the open, preferring large sandy stretches or wide moorlands, 



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