388 BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



black, faintly edged and tipped with pale reddish- 

 brown. Chin and throat black ; sides of neck white ; 

 breast dark rich rust colour, belly much lighter ; 

 vent and under tail-coverts a mixture of black 

 and white, which varies in individual specimens ; 

 some are dark and others quite light coloured in 

 these parts. 



The female is dull brown on the head, nape, and 

 back, the feathers being edged with buff ; the rump 

 is brownish, the chin buff, the sides of the neck 

 brownish- white, and the breast and belly duller. 



Situation and Locality. On or near the ground, 

 amongst grass, brambles, at the foot of gorse bushes, 

 and amongst rough, tangled vegetation ; in pas- 

 tures, grass fields, on furze and heath-covered com- 

 mons, and ground covered with juniper brambles, 

 boulders, and bushes. The nest is somewhat diffi- 

 cult to find ; the one shown in our illustration was 

 stumbled upon quite by accident on a Suffolk com- 

 mon. The bird is very local, but breeds more or 

 less in suitable localities all over the British Isles. 



Materials. Roots, moss, and dry grass, with an 

 inner lining of hair, feathers, finer grass, and some- 

 times a little wool. 



Eggs. Four to six, rarely seven, of a pale bluish- 

 green, closely mottled, and especially round the 

 larger end, with reddish-brown spots. Sometimes 

 without any spots at all. Distinguished from the 

 eggs of the Whinchat by lighter ground-colour 

 and more defined markings, also by parent birds. 

 Size about .7 by .57 in. (See Plate IV.) 



Time. April and May. 



Remarks. Resident, but subject to local migra- 

 tion. Notes : u-tic, it-tic, changing when the young 

 are hatched to chuck, chuck. Local and other 



