

62 OUR IRISH SONG BIRDS. 



near Newcastle, Co. Wicklow : thus the winter migrants 

 had not departed before the summer migrants had begun 

 to arrive. It has been supposed that a few Wheatears, 

 as well as a few Chiff-chaffs, remain all the year round in 

 sheltered parts of the country ; if true, this would 

 account for their occasional appearance long before the 

 time of the spring migration has arrived. 



Some have thought that the name " Wheatear " is 

 only a corruption of white ear, given to it from its 

 spring plumage. The white on the upper tail-coverts, 

 however, is very conspicuous as the bird is on the wing, 

 and would suggest rather the term " white tail," by 

 which the bird is known in some parts of England. 



Mr. Thompson tells us that in the north of Ireland 

 this bird is called the " Stonechecker," from its note 

 " check, check," and also from its generally perching on 

 stones. In Kerry it is called " custeen-fayclough," 

 meaning " the cunning little old man under the stone," 

 and elsewhere " casur cloch," or stone-hammer. 



I have heard the Wheatear sing but once, and that 

 when on the wing ; its song is said to be " wild and 

 varied." The note, like the knocking of two stones 

 together, is, however, constantly heard, the bird jerking 

 its tail and depressing its wings at every utterance. 



In some parts of Scotland this bird is called "the 

 shepherd," in others, " the clacheran ;" and on the moun- 

 tain tops, when the thick Scotch mist is falling, as you 

 approach the pile of stones on the summit, you hear the 

 " clacheran " before you can see the cairn ; it pilots the 

 travellers to the cairn, and seems "as if it were breaking 

 the stones that are soon to cover you." 



The attitude of the Wheatear when standing or 

 running greatly impresses me; he is always on the alert. 



