THE WHEATEAR. 299 
North and West Africa ; and on the east coast of that continent it has been 
obtained south of the equator. The Asiatic birds winter in Mongolia, North 
India, and Persia; and on the American continent it has been found as far 
south as the Bermudas at that season. 
The breeding-grounds and summer haunts of the Wheatear embrace 
some of the wildest and most romantic portions of our native scenery. 
On the breezy wastes near the ocean—the low-lying sandy coast or the, 
rough shingly beach and rugged limestone cliffs,—or the solitudes of 
the upland moors and mountains, where the rocks, the heather, and the 
lochs are the salient features of the landscape, the Wheatear equally 
abounds. He is also seen on the summer fallows, and haunts old and 
disused stone-quarries and sand-pits. Favourite situations for the bird 
are high up the mountain-sides where the peat is cut, the birds frequenting 
the clearings and incessantly flitting about the peat-stacks and perching 
on the turf fences or the cots of the peasants, to whom it is known as the 
“Stone clatter,” or, in Gaelic, the “ Clacharan.” The Wheatear may also 
often be seen on the broad tablelands, about old cairns and sheep-folds, 
and on the road-sides. Even the bare and uninhabited rocky islets of the 
west of Scotland are usually tenanted by a pair or so of birds, the chief 
sign of bird-life upon them. The Wheatear is rarely seen in the well- 
wooded and cultivated districts, except one or two straggling birds, and 
then usually during the autumnal season of migration. 
The first Wheatears are seen in the south of England at the latter end 
of March; and by the first week in April the remotest districts of the 
Orkneys and Hebrides are tenanted. by them. The annual migrations of 
the Wheatear are a prominent feature in its history. But these movements 
ean seldom be studied except on the coast ; for by the time the birds have 
reached their more inland haunts, they have dispersed themselves. In the 
same manner the autumnal movements are made, and the vast gatherings 
of this bird are only seen on the sea-shore, where it appears that they 
finally congregate ere taking their departure for their winter-quarters. 
Like most birds, the Wheatear performs its migrations in the night, 
and often arrives on our coasts long before daybreak. From early 
August until the middle of September, Wheatears are seen in vast 
numbers on the Downs of Sussex, for the greater part young birds reared 
in the north and now passing southwards on their autumnal journey. 
Being at this season excessively fat and rich in flavour, they are subject 
to an incessant persecution. The birds are snared in great quantities 
by the shepherds whose flocks are pastured on the open downs. But 
the Wheatear does not now occur so plentifully as formerly. The decrease 
in their numbers is probably less owing to this incessant persecution than 
to the destruction of their favourite breeding-grounds, which are yearly, 
to such a large extent, placed under cultivation. 
