Their Eggs and Nests. 8i 



some other quainter names still, which I have noted 

 down, and yet another or two common to the Wheat- 

 ear and the Stone-chat, such as Stone-chacker. — A 

 common enough bird here, and with some of the more 

 obvious habits of the Stone-chat. It perches on the 

 stone walls as one approaches it, and flirts its tail and 

 chacks, and then diving below the wall on the far 

 side, re-appears again ten or twelve yards lower, and 

 acts as before ; and so on for a hundred yards or 

 more. The stone walls in our district and the large 

 heaps of stones, removed in reclaiming parts of the 

 moor, and flung promiscuously together anywhere to 

 be out of the way, aflford them capital breeding places. 

 In other countries old walls, or holes in the sides of 

 pits or excavations, serve their purpose. The nest 

 is not very artistic or well-finished, and is formed of 

 many different materials — bents, feathers, dry roots, 

 fur ; in short, any waste matters which may have 

 come in the way of the builders. The eggs are five 

 or six in number, and of a pale blue colour, not so dark 

 as those of the Hedge Sparrow. It is said that people 

 accustomed to the habits of the Wheat-ear are able to 

 find its nest without difficulty, from the occurrence of 

 certain noticeable signs in its neighbourhood. — Fig. 1, 

 plate II L 



RUFOUS W^ARBLER— (^^'^« galactodes). 



Only two or three instances of its occurrence in this 

 country. 



ICTERINE WARBLER— (/f^/^/^/j icterina). 

 Only observed in Britain two or three times. Very 



