WHINCHAT. 251 



publislied his method of treatment. One of these birds 

 brought up from the nest by Mr. Sweet used to sing the 

 whole day through, and very often at night : it sang the notes 

 of the Whitethroat, Redstart, Willow Warbler, Missel 

 Thrush, and Nightingale. The food of the Whinchat is 

 worms, insects, small testaceous mollusca, slugs, and berries. 



The nest, generally placed on the ground, is similar to 

 that of the Stonechat, formed with a little moss and bents of 

 grass, lined with finer bents : the eggs, five or six, of a uni- 

 form bluish green, with some minute specks of dull reddish 

 brown ; the length of the egg nine lines, and six lines and a 

 half in breadth. Mr. Jenyns says, the young are hatched 

 towards the end of May, and two broods are produced in the 

 season. In the month of August, when fat, though smaller 

 in size than the Wheatear, they are not otherwise inferior to 

 it as an article of food for the table. 



Whinchats may rather be said to be general than nu- 

 merous, and are usually seen in pairs only, till their young- 

 leave the nest. They are observed in all the counties 

 around London ; and in a southern and western direction, in 

 Hampshire and Dorsetshire ; but more rare in Devonshire, 

 and still more so in Cornwall. Montagu says they are plen- 

 tiful in Somersetshire, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire ; are 

 observed in Wales ; and, according to Mr. Templeton and 

 Mr. Thompson, are regular summer visiters to Ireland. 

 North of the counties surrounding London, the Whinchat is 

 seen in Suffolk, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Durham, and Northum- 

 berland ; and, still further north, was seen by Mr. Selby in 

 Sutherland, and by Mr. Macgillivray in the Hebrides ; but 

 is not included among the Birds of Orkney or Shetland. 



The Whinchat visits Denmark, and was observed by Mr. 

 Hewitson to be rather numerous in those j^arts of Norway 

 that were clear of wood ; and, according to M. Nilsson, it 

 arrives in Sweden by the end of April. It is found also, 



