HEDGE-SPARROW 477 



small first primary quill is longer. Young birds differ in colour from 

 adult females merely by the buffish-white throat, and the reddish-brown 

 edges of the feathers of the upper surface. 



Unlike the whinchat, the present species is to a great extent a 

 permanent denizen of the British Isles, but a certain percentage 

 of individuals wend their way southwards in winter. Although local, 

 the bird is found all over the British mainland, but does not breed in 

 either Orkney or Shetland. On the Continent its northern range is 

 very limited, not extending beyond the south of Sweden, while its 

 eastward boundary is marked approximately by the Volga ; southwards 

 it breeds even in the warmest parts of Spain. The migratory contingent 

 visits Africa in winter. 



To every one conversant with the gorse- commons and heathy 

 districts of England the habits of the stonechat are too familiar to 

 need description. The nest, although somewhat coarser in structure, 

 is placed in situations similar to those mentioned under the heading of 

 the whinchat, and is therefore equally difficult to discover. The four 

 to six bluish-green eggs have larger and more distinct reddish-brown 

 spots than those of the whinchat. 



Of the eastern stonechat {Pratiiicola mannis), ranging from eastern 

 Europe through Siberia to Japan, and distinguished by the wholly 

 white upper tail-coverts and black axillaries, an example was killed 

 in Norfolk in September 1 904. Another straggler represented by a 

 solitary specimen, taken in Northamptonshire in i 901, is the American 

 bluebird {Si alia sialis). 



Hede-e-SDappow ^^^ humble little bird, so familiar round our dwelling- 



CAeeentOP houses throughout the year, and universally known as 



modulapis) ^^^ hedge-sparrow, is referred by some ornithologists 



to a distinct family, but is best regarded as the 



representative of a subfamily (Accentorina;) of the thrush tribe. The 



attempt to replace its vernacular title by "hedge-accentor" has 



deservedly failed ; and it also seems unnecessary to separate this 



bird from the genus Accentor, as typified by Asiatic species, under 



the title of Tharraletis modiilaris, as has been proposed. The members 



of the hedge-sparrow group differ from the other representatives of the 



thrush tribe in that the front surface of the shank of the leg is covered 



with large transverse shield-like scales instead of with a continuous 



smooth plate. On the other hand, these birds resemble robins and 



nightingales in having bristles at the gape of the mouth (although 



somewhat poorly developed), and in the spotted plumage of the young. 



