314. BRITISH BIRDS. 
the herbage on the ground. Beetles and the small flies so abundant 
amongst the grass form its favourite fare. It feeds largely on the 
wireworm ; and this explains the bird’s presence on the fallow land in the 
spring and on the turnip-fields when the young plants are in their first 
leaves, the only time at which they are exposed to the inroads of the 
dreaded “‘ fly,’ which also forms part of its sustenance. It is doubtful 
whether this species feeds on fruit or berries; but it has been known to 
eat the growing corn. In the early autumn, when the young birds are 
with their parents, the pastures are frequented, and the droppings of the 
cattle searched for beetles and worms. 
Shortly after its arrival the Whinchat is in full song. Its melody is so 
unobtrusive, so low of tone, that it is very often overlooked. It is a song 
very similar to the Redstart’s, and chiefly uttered when the bird is hovering 
in the air. It will, however, warble from a perch; but this is, for the 
most part, after the pairing-season, and usually from some twig near the 
nest. The Whinchat is one of the first birds to lose his powers of song. 
He warbles incessantly throughout the month of May, not so frequently in 
June, and by the first days of July he is songless, for the autumnal change 
of plumage is shortly to be made. The call-notes have already been 
mentioned; but, in addition to these, it utters a peculiarly low peep, 
which seems to be a note expressive of anxiety when its nest is 
menaced. 
By the middle of May the Whinchat is seen in pairs, and after a week 
or so their nest is completed. If on the moorland, the female bird finds a 
place to build her nest amongst the heather; if in the gorse-coverts, she 
will repair to the herbage in their midst, and make her home under some 
dense and impenetrable whin-bush ; while if her haunt is the open fields, 
her home is built amongst the grass, sometimes in the centre of the fields, 
or at others close to the hedgerows. During the whole time the birds are 
engaged in building their nest they are the very essence of wariness. 
Notice, for instance, how the male bird, when bringing materials to the 
nest, will try to weary your patience by his deceptive motions. From 
spray to spray he hops, sometimes sitting motionless for a few moments, 
and then flying to some distant bush, all the time uttering his monotonous 
note, then back again to alight in the herbage, to reappear the next 
moment, however, with the materials still in his beak. Aware of your 
presence he will not visit the nest; and if you wish to find it you must 
search the locality closely, and depend upon good fortune for success, for 
you may rest assured the bird will not betray its whereabouts. The nest 
of the Whinchat is usually made in a little cavity in the ground, and the 
thickest tufts of herbage are selected. Dry grass, moss, and a few straws 
form the outside of the nest; internally it is composed of rootlets and 
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