408 THE THRUSH FAMILY 



could not possibly bear the weight of this stout-looking bird, so 

 aldermanic in proportions when compared with the slim elegance 

 of the whinchat. But "he hath a leg" ; strong, slender, and elegant; 

 supple and springy withal, which in spite of his corpulence gives him 

 the air of being the best set up bird in creation ; a fact of which he is 

 quite conscious, as he is also of his brilliant uniform. Perhaps the 

 stonechat's tail is his most expressive feature if such a term can be 

 applied to a mere appendage. It is almost as emotional as a dog's, 

 and his angry "t'chat fchat," too, is not unlike the short, sharp bark 

 of a ruffled terrier. 



From his manner of greeting you, and the obvious displeasure 

 evinced by the jerking of his tail, one might suppose the stonechat 

 to be really bad-tempered. In some parts of the Highlands, indeed, 

 his nest is left unmolested from fear of his curse, which runs 

 as follows : 



" Stane chack ! 

 Deevil tak ! 



They who harry my nest 

 Will never rest, 

 Will meet the pest. 

 Deil break their lang back 

 Wha my eggs wad ' tak ' ' tak.' " 



In reality the bird is only a trifle irascible, and given to speaking 

 his mind. Provided one does not intrude too closely he will become 

 quite affable and entertain you by hawking for flies in a really clever 

 and inspiriting manner, considering his size and shape. But if you 

 persist in following him unasked to his own door, then, indeed, his 

 rage is unbounded and his language coarse ! One day, having planted 

 my offending self and camera within a few feet of a stonechat's nest, 

 finding their excited efforts at dislodging me by mere invective quite 

 useless, the birds resorted to various feints in order to accomplish 

 this desired end, and at last went so far as to sham feeding an 

 imaginary brood some distance away. Each collected food, and 

 dropping down into the same spot time after time, flew away with 



