THE STONECHAT AND WHINCHAT 413 



the hen stonechat: whereas the whinchats are both of slighter 

 build. 



They delight in gorse or "whin" bushes as the name suggests, 

 but are equally fond of meadows ; and, in common with many ground 

 builders, often seek the comparative solitude of railway cuttings, 

 where they are almost immune from the persecution of marauding 

 boys. After the breeding season they make for the open fields, 

 especially those planted with roots such as potatoes and carrots. An 

 exceptionally rare case of an albino whinchat was met with on 

 Salisbury Plain, in company with four normal birds of the same 

 species, and noted in the Field of August 23, 1894. Although more 

 evenly distributed than the stonechat, the whinchat often escapes 

 observation owing to its retiring habits. As a rule, in districts where 

 the one bird is common, the other will be less so. In spring the male 

 whinchats arrive several days before the females, and may be seen on 

 the south coast about the middle of April, but seldom reach the north 

 till the end of that month. 



Its nesting habits are similar to those of the stonechat. The nest 

 itself is usually placed in a tuft of grass or rough undergrowth of some 

 kind, and may be distinguished from the stonechat's by its lining, 

 which generally consists of fine dry grasses ; whereas the latter bird 

 usually finishes off its nursery with hair, feathers, vegetable down, or 

 wool. According to Naumann, the female alone incubates, though 

 the mate is diligent in assisting his mate when feeding operations 

 commence. 



The food supplied to some nestlings I spent several days in 

 watching consisted entirely of insects and their larvae, including 

 moths, which they frequently attempted to catch on the wing. 

 Occasionally a surprised and irresolute nocturnal moth, blinded by 

 the glare of a hot May morning, would afford the male whinchat 

 considerable sport which did not always result in a successful capture, 

 as the two turned and twisted in mid-air. Generally the parents 

 would spy their prey from the vantage-ground of a twig or bush 



