402 THE THRUSH FAMILY 



"Birds, companions, more unknown, 

 Live beside us, but alone ; 

 Finding not, do all they can, 

 Passage from their soul to man." 



The wheatear usually builds its nest in a disused rabbit-burrow, but is 

 not by any means tied by convention in the choice of a site. Dr. N. 

 F. Ticehurst mentions a nest with eggs which he found built, like that 

 of a stonechat, amongst the roots of a tall gorse bush ; he also draws 

 attention to Mr Boyd Alexander's statement, that occasionally nests 

 may be found in a depression on the bare beach, and in this case dry 

 grass alone is used as a nesting material, the usual feather lining 

 being absent. 1 A pair once built under a target which had not been 

 used for some time, but over which hundreds of bullets were fired daily, 

 by men belonging to the Hythe School of Musketry. 2 Another nest 

 was discovered in the axle of a wheel leaning against a marker's butt. 3 



There is a remarkable instance on record of two wheatears laying 

 in one nest. This must have been the case, as the number of eggs 

 deposited was doubled each day. But unfortunately the nest came 

 to grief before either parent began to brood. 



Dr. H. L. Saxby gives a detailed account of a curious dual nest- 

 ing-site which he discovered and described minutely. I quote his 

 observations in full 



" The nesting habits of the wheatear are so full of varied interest 

 as to afford unceasing pleasure to the observer. One of the most 

 curious departures from ordinary rule came under my notice early in 

 June 1863. At the edge of a deep burn upon the hillside a long 

 strip of turf had given way, and, resting against the steep bank had 

 thus formed a kind of tunnel about a yard in length. So tempting a 

 situation for a nest had attracted the notice of two pairs of wheatears, 

 which instead -of settling the question of ownership sparrow-fashion, 

 ,pera6abiyib.urtt their nests side by side within six inches of each other. 

 Each nest contained six eggs, all of which were hatched within the 



1 Birds of Kent, 1910, p. 17. * Field, 1889, vol. Ixvii., p. 700. 3 Field,, 1809, vol. xxxiii., p. 413. 



