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the autumn the head and throat feathers are tipped with 

 brown. The Stonechat frequents commons where plenty 

 of thick furze abounds, and is also very partial to strag- 

 gling bramble and other low bushes, where he may be 

 seen perched upon the topmost twig spreading and clos- 

 ing his fan-like tail and uttering a sharp " cluck-cluck" 

 —particularly when alarmed. If you can contrive to get 

 close to the bush upon which he is perching, he will 

 make a dive as though to alight on the ground at the 

 foot of the bush, but in reality he will fly close to the 

 ground on to the next bush, where you will find him 

 perched on the topmost twig as before. 



In selecting a specimen in the spring which you 

 intend eventually for an exhibition bird, you should 

 choose one with a dense black head, pure white collar, 

 and the breast colour as deep as possible, not forgetting 

 that it should be a large and shapely bird. I am assum- 

 ing a number of birds can be had for selection, but 

 personally I have never had the opportunity of any 

 number to choose from — the most I think has been four. 



Bird-shop keepers as a rule do not seem to think 

 it worth their while to get Stonechats — or, as the\^ 

 call them, "Furze Chats" — ^probably for two reasons ; 

 firstly, there would not be much demand for them, 

 and secondly, the difiiculty experienced, and the ex- 

 pense and patience required, in " meating-off," and 

 keeping until a customer conies along. I am strongl}' of 

 opinion, from my own experience, that an old cock 

 Stonechat in the Springtime is without exception the 

 most difficult bird to "meat-off" of all the soft bills, 

 and in the Autumn, after the moult, both young and old 

 are almost as bad. I do not think it possible to satisfac- 

 torily "meat-off" an adult vStonechat either in spring or 

 autumn under a month and sometimes longer, and a 

 great deal of patience, and an unlimited supply of meal- 

 worms will be required. For the first ten days or so I 

 give at least thirty mealworms a day, mixed with hard 

 boiled egg (the yolk only at first), then twenty per day 

 for the next week or so. After that time I reduce the 



