20 WHEATEAR. 



recorded from 80'^ N. lat. (Feilden), Boothia Felix, and Point 

 Barrow. Greenland appears to be the breeding-place of a large 

 race which passes through our islands from the middle of April 

 onwards, and seems to be somewhat addicted to perching on trees. 

 Our ordinary form breeds throughout Europe, Siberia, Mongolia, 

 and, at suitable elevations, in Asia INIinor and North Africa ; it visits 

 the Canaries, and has of late years established itself in the Azores. 

 The smallest examples are those found in Syria. In winter 

 it migrates to a little south of the Equator. Crossing Bering 

 Sea it visits Alaska ; and accidentally it has occurred in Colorado, 

 the eastern portions of the United States and Canada, and the 

 Bermudas. 



About the middle of April a loose nest of dry grass, lined with 

 rabbits' fur, hair, and feathers, is placed in rabbit-burrows, crevices of 

 stone walls, and peat-stacks on the moors, or under rocks and fallow- 

 clods, in discarded tins and kettles, and even in old artillery-shells. 

 The 5-6, often 7, eggs are very pale blue, sometimes minutely 

 dotted with purple : measurements "8 by "6 in. Two broods are 

 produced in the season. The old birds are wary and do not easily 

 betray the situation of their treasure. The song of the male, often 

 uttered on the wing, is rather pretty ; and the bird also displays 

 considerable powers of imitating other species. Its food consists of 

 small spiders, insects — often captured flying — and their larvje. The 

 name has no connection with wheat, but is a corruption of white, 

 and of the Anglo-Saxon cers, for which the modern equivalent is 

 'rump'; and in fact as " white rumps " this species and its 

 congeners are known in most of the European language. 



Adult male in summer : forehead and eye-streak white ; lores and 

 ear-coverts black ; head, neck and back grey ; wings nearly black ; 

 rump white ; the two central tail-feathers black nearly to the base, 

 the others white with broad black tips ; under parts white, with only 

 a faint tinge of buff on the throat in old birds ; under wing-coverts 

 and axillaries mottled with dark grey and white ; bill, legs and 

 feet black. In autumn the new feathers are so broadly margined 

 with rufous-brown that the male much resembles the female ; and 

 even on the spring arrival many of the upper feathers still retain 

 buff margins. Length 6 in. ; wing to tip of third and longest quill, 

 375 in. The female differs in having the ear-coverts dark brown ; 

 upper parts hair-brown ; under parts buff, not unlike the south- 

 eastern S. isabellina, in which, however, the under wiiig-coverfs are 

 white. The young are slightly spotted above and below, with buff 

 tips and margins to the tail- and wing-feathers. 



