NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



patch at the base of its tail, seen most 

 conspicuously when the bird is flying 

 away from the 

 observer. 



This species in- 

 habits high moor- 

 land districts 

 where rocks and 

 solitude are the 

 most striking fea- 

 tures of the land- 

 scape, but it is a 

 mistake to say 

 that the cultiva- 

 tion of land 

 banishes it, for I 

 have met with it 

 breeding on 

 ploughed land in 

 the Highlands, 

 Hebrides, and 

 Shetlands quite 

 commonly. 



The nest is sit- 

 uated under loose slabs of rock, in 

 holes in rough, dry stone walls, peat 

 stacks, and rocky banks. I have met 

 with it on two or three occasions in 

 the old nesting burrows of rabbits. It 

 is made of dead grass, rootlets, and 

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