CEATS AND WARBLEnS. 91 



Beparatod by a bvoiul streak of rlark brown; tlic iridos aro brown; 

 the throat and breast a delicate t'awn-colonr, passin,!:^ i"to pale bull' 

 beneath. The smaller and foremost wing coverts aro dark brown, 

 with light reddish edges, the hindmost wholly or half white. 'J'lio 

 quill feathers are dark brown, edged with reddish brown, some of the 

 outer ones white at the base. The tail, which is short, is white at 

 the base, except the two middle feathers, aud the remainder dark 

 brown, edged with paler brown. The legs, toes, and claws arc black. 



The female resembles tlic male, but the white markings on the 

 wings are less extensive, the stripes about the eye yellowish \vhite, 

 and the colouring altogether paler. The young arc at first mottled 

 grey and white, but when fully fledged resemble the female. 



The food of tho Wliincliat consists of flies and other insects, slugs, 

 snails, and worms, for which it searches morning and evening, generally 

 resting- during tho middle of tho day. 



TTTl'. W HE A TEAR, 



(Sylvia ccnanllie.) 

 PLATE VI. — FIGURE Til. 



From its effective colouring, elegant and compact form, and lively 

 habits, the Whcatear is one of the most attractive of the sylvan 

 birds. It arrives in this country about the middle of March. Mr. 

 Couch remarks, that on the coast of Cornwall, "this bird reaches 

 our shores so early as to prove that it must have taken flight from 

 the French coast long before daylight. Few come after nine o'clock 

 in the morning, and none after twelve. They sometimes perch on 

 our fishing boats, at two or three leagues from land, in an almost 

 exhausted state. They do not cross tho Cliauuel every day; and as 

 it usually happens that our own residents are not tho first to arrive, 

 it is common for them to abound in tho morning; but in the after- 

 noon, and for a day or two after, for not one to bo seen." 



In a few weeks they spread themselves over the whole island, 

 selecting stony slopes in the vicinity of pastures, sandy downs along 

 the sea coast, and valleys in the more mountainous districts, as their 



