SAXICOLA. 



SAXICOLA. 



Female. Upper parts blackish brown with border* of yellowish 

 ruKly: wing* and tail-feather* brown bordered with yellowish ruddy ; 

 throat black, with small whitish and ruddyish spot* ; the white space 

 on the aide* of the neck and of the upper part of the wing lew ex- 

 tended; ruddy colour of the breast leu vivid. 



Young male* before their second moult like the old female. 



Toung at their Departure from the Nest. Feathers of the upper 

 parts grayish brown ; all terminated by a small whitish spot 



After the autumnal moult all the individuals hare brown ash-colour 

 on the head and the back ; this colour occupying solely the fine points 

 of the barbs, they by exposure and friction cause in the spring the 

 black colour of the middle of the feathers to appear. (Tenim.) 



It is found in Russia, Germany, France, Provence, Italy, Smyrna, 

 Japan, the Deccau, the banks of the Oanges, the mountain-chain of 

 Upper Hindustan, Senegal, and South Africa (Cape). England, Ireland, 

 and Scotland. 



Though several of this species remain through the winter months, 

 the general body quit the British Islands in autumn, nor do they 

 return till the spring is forward, seldom appearing on our heaths and 

 commons, dappled with furze and bushes, before the end of March : 

 but March is often bleak ; and when the winds blow roughly, they 

 quit these open spots for the skelter of the snug Inues and groves. 

 Still however the open tracts are their favourite haunts, and, wind 

 and weather permitting, there they are to be seen almost ever in 

 motion, now on a stone, now on a bush, from which they dart to 

 seize the passing insect and then return. Although their song, which 

 is given on the wing, is short, it is pleasing ; and they are in a degree 

 mocking-birds, being no bad imitators of the song of others. Besides 

 insect*, worms are acceptable food to them ; and for these they may 

 be frequently seen foraging on the ground. 



The nest, which is of considerable size in proportion to the bird, is 

 framed in the beginning of April on the ground or some dwarf bush. 

 Externally it is fabricated of moss and grass; and a few fine bents, 

 hairs, and feathers form the lining. The eggs, which are laid from 

 the middle of April to the third week in that month, are pole-blue 

 with somewhat of a grayish tint, finely dotted with obscure reddish- 

 brown at the large end. 



When the young are hatched that is, about the middle of May 

 the old Stonechats become very bold. They make a constant clamour, 

 and put in practice many a ruse to deceive the schoolboy and draw 

 him from their nest. 



S. (fnanlhe, the Wheatear (MotaciUa manthc, Linn.; V'itijtora of 

 Belon and Brisson). It is the Moteux, Vitrec, and Cul-blanc, of the 

 French; Code-Bianco, Culo-liiunco, Fornarola, Petragnola, Culbiano, 

 and Codetta d'Estate, of the Italians ; Steinschwatzer, Steinschnapperl, 

 Qrauriickiger, Steinschmatcer, and Weisschwanz, of the Germans ; 

 Tapuit of the Netherlander; Stensquetta of the Swedes ; Steendolp, 

 Steensquette, and Steengylpe, of the Norwegians ; Fallowfinch, Fallow- 

 Chat, Fallow-Smith, White-tail, Fallow-Smiter, Horseumtch, Snorter, 

 Stone Chacker, Chickcll, and Chack-Bird, of the English ; and Tinwyn 

 y Cerrig of the Welsh. 



The old male has the upper parts of the body ashy-gray; forehead, 

 band above the eyes, and throat, white ; black passing from the root 

 of the bill below the eye and covering the orifice of the ears ; wings 

 black ; rump and tail white for two-thirds of the length of the latter ; 

 the rest, towards the end, black, excepting the two middle feathers, 

 which are entirely black ; front of the neck and breait buff-colour ; 

 the rest of the lower parts pale buffy-white. Total length 0.' 

 inches. 



Female. Upper parts ashy-brown ; forehead rusty-gray ; deep 

 brown above the eye and covering the orifice of the ears; wing* 

 blackish-brown, bordered with bright brown ; white at the origin of 

 the tail, less extended ; neck and breast rusty ; the rest rusty-white. 



Young of the Year. At their departure from the nest, with the 

 upper parts variegated with rusty and ash-colour, and spotted with 

 brown ; feathers of the rump white ; throat and lower part of the 

 body ruddy, dotted and finely striped with blackish-brown ; wing- 

 coverts bordered with rusty ; quills and tail-feather bordered with 

 ruddy. 



The geographical distribution of this bird is very wide. Lapland, 

 Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Iceland, and Faroe Islands. 



In Europe it is abundant, particularly on the northern shores of 

 the Mediterranean. It is found in Dalmatia and the Mores. Belon 

 saw it flying above the bushes in Crete ; Mr. Strickland noticed it at 

 Smyrna in April ; and Mr. Keith Abbott procured it at Trebizoud 

 (40 5 46' N. lat, 40 25' E. long.) 



In these islands, where It is generally diffused, the Wheatear arrives 

 about the middle of March, and the great body have left us about 

 the end of September, though some stragglers stay later, and have 

 been seen as laU as part the middle of November. The Hebrides, 

 Orkneys, and Shetland are visited by them. 



Insects generally, which are captured on the wing, Caleoptera and 

 their larva, and worms, form the food of the Wheatear, which 

 generally sits on the watch upon an elevated clod or stone. 



The nest is framed of dried roots and feathers, rabbit's-down, ic. ; 

 and the eggs, generally six in number, are pale-blue. The bird 

 manifests sometimes great precaution in selecting a place for it not 

 easily detected. Various curious positions are recorded by naturalists. 



Mr. Salmon states that in Suffolk and Norfolk a deserted rabbit- 

 burrow is usually selected for the nest, which is placed near the 

 entrance. In such situations, he adds, the nest is sure to be dis- 

 covered by the accumulation of a number of small pieces of the 

 withered stalks of Plerii agttilina which the old birds amass outside 

 the entrance. Mr. Yarrell found the nest in a fallow field under a 

 large clod, to which his attention was drawn by a portion of its 

 materials appearing outside the holu through which the bird passed 

 to the hollow space within. 



When the Wlieatears begin to draw towards our southern counties 

 previous to their departure, they soon fall victims to the eagerness 

 with which they are sought as delicacies for the table.. They are 

 caught by the shepherds in traps. The numbers thus taken in the 

 season, which commences on St. James's Day (25th July), when the 

 traps are first opened, appear to be almost incredible. A shepherd 

 has been known to capture 84 dozen in a day. Pennant declares 

 that about Eastbourne about 1840 dozen were annually caught in his 

 time. They are roasted wrapped up in vine-leaves, on account of 

 the great tenderness of the flesh. The flavour is delicious, and it 

 hns been termed, not inaptly, the English Ortolan. 



The flight of the Wheatear is smooth and rapid, but low. Its song, 

 though heard with difficulty in the open air, is soft and sweet, often 

 uttered while on the wing in the season of love, as the mole hovers 

 over the female, expanding the feathers of his tail. 



The following quatrain appears under the figure of this species in 

 the 'Portraits d'Oyseaux, Auimaux, Serpcns, etc., observcz par P. 

 Belon du Mans :' 



" I.'oyseau petit, qne Ton nomme Culblanc, 

 Chcrchc a se paiitrc et vivrc de vcrmine 

 Qu'il trouve en hcrbe, ou quc dans terrc 11 mine : 

 Et a let nomme, pour avoir le cul blanc." 



Besides the Wheatear here noticed, Mr. Gould describes and figures 

 the following as European: The Black Wheatear (S. cachinnam, 

 Temm.) ; the Pied Wheatear (S. Icucomda, Temrn.) ; the Russet Wheat- 

 ear (S. itapasina, Temm.); and the Black-Eared Wheatear (S. auritu 

 Temm.). 



Wheatear (Sazieo!a tenant kr). Lower figure, male. 



.?. rubetra, the Wbinchat, Auct, Motacilla rubetra, Linn. This is 

 the Grand Traquet, Troquot, Oroulard, Tarier, Thyon, Semel (in 

 Lorraine), of the French ; Grosser Kliegenfanger, Gestettenachlager, 

 and Braunkehliger S teiiuchuiutzer, of the Germans ; Saltabastone con 



