318 BRITISH BIRDS. 
likely place to look for the Stonechat is on the borders of the moors, 
where their monotony is relieved by patches of broken ground, strewed with 
rocks and overgrown with bilberry, heath, bracken, and bramble, and 
studded pretty frequently with bushes, with here and there an occasional 
birch or mountain-ash tree. But the Stonechat is not exclusively con- 
fined to the wild barren wastes or to the “roughs” adjoining them, for 
sometimes it is seen, usually in the winter or spring, in the fields of the 
well-cultivated districts—birds most probably driven in by stress of 
weather, or on migration and merely resting on their journey. 
Although the Stonechat is migratory on the continent, it is a resident 
bird in the British Islands. It is, however, possible that a few of the 
birds bred here leave us in the autumn and return in the following 
spring. In Ireland, although the bird is a resident, its numbers are said 
to decrease in the summer and again increase in the autumn. - 
The Stonechat is usually seen in pairs, indeed it is not improbable that 
this bird is mated to its partner for life. In its general habits it is very 
similar to the Whinchat. It flits before the observer, perching on the 
topmost sprays of heath and bush, or makes long detours to its favourite 
haunt from which it was first disturbed. Like the Whinchat, its tail is 
almost incessantly in motion, and its call-note is uttered repeatedly. 
Always restless and noisy, this little creature is sure to press itself upon the 
attention, if it be present at all. Perhaps the situations which seem most 
in harmony with the Stonechat’s rich and varied dress are the gorse- 
coverts in the early spring. The richly attired male bird hops amongst 
the dense branches of the gorse, or balances himself daintily on some spray 
of golden bloom, or flutters in the air in butterfly-like flight to poise 
lightly on some spray where his rich plumage contrasts with the golden 
tints in such abundance all around. If seriously alarmed, the little creature 
will seek safety amongst the densest portions of the surrounding vegetation. 
Rarely, indeed, does the Stonechat visit the ground except for the purpose 
of searching for food ; nor does it, as a rule, perch as much as the Wheat- 
ear on the turfs or stones. In the winter the Stonechat may still be seen 
in its summer haunts. Even though the moorlands are lying deep in snow 
it will be there to flutter from bush to bush, or start from the places 
where the snow has been driven past and left ground which may be searched 
for a scanty sustenance. But if the weather still keeps severe, if the 
storm continues unabated for any length of time, the Stonechat often 
comes nearer to the houses, and seeks its food in company with the Robin, 
the Wren, the Sparrows, and other birds that depend so largely on our 
bounty in the cold and cheerless winter season. Dixon observes “that 
one pair of Stonechats keep most closely to a certain locality, from which 
they seldom stray far. Nor can they be driven away from the haunt of 
their choice. You may follow them, harass them incessantly, but they will 
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