STONECHAT. 145 



a simple little structure, loosely fabricated, made exter- 

 nally of dry grass, moss, and roots, and lined with finer 

 grass, horsehair, feathers, and less frequently wool. The 

 birds are very wary at the nesting-place, and although 

 they show themselves continually and flit tirelessly from 

 spray to spray, occasionally indulging in longer flights, 

 and repeatedly uttering their double call-note {h-tic), 

 they are most careful not to betray their secret. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Stonechat are from four to six in number. 

 They are pale bluish-green in ground colour, spotted, 

 blotched, and freckled with reddish-brown. The mark- 

 ings generally form a zone round the larger end of the 

 Qgg, and in some varieties almost entirely cover the end. 

 Rare varieties are almost without any markings ; more 

 frequently a richly-marked type is seen, where the spots 

 arc large and blotchy. Average measurement, 7 inch 

 in length, by '58 inch in breadth. Incubation, per- 

 formed chiefly by the female, lasts about fourteen days. 



Diagnostic characters : The paler ground colour 

 and much richer and more clearly defined markings 

 distinguish the eggs of this species from those of the 

 Whinchat. The unspotted varieties require more care 

 in identification, but the locality of the nest is then of 

 some importance. 



