414 THE THKUSH FAMILY 



and suddenly dart upon it after the manner of a robin, but a fluffy- 

 bodied moth was not always to be caught napping, and unless 

 actually speared by the bird's bill seemed to present considerable 

 difficulties, till with torn wings it fluttered helplessly to the 

 ground. 



On the only occasion I ever photographed whinchats, I found 

 them much more difficult to deal with than stonechats. But it is 

 never safe to generalise from one particular instance. Individual 

 birds, even of the same species, differ widely in temperament, and 

 are as much subject to "nerve storm" as human beings. This 

 particular pair of whinchats gave me a great deal of trouble. There 

 was no cover near the nest, which was placed in a tuft of dry grass 

 on an open heath, practically consisting of acres of similar dry grass, 

 which gleamed like burnished copper beneath the broiling sun. 

 The male bird only came to feed the young once during the four 

 days of watching that my camera was in position, but the 

 moment I removed it he flew regularly to and fro with food for the 

 nestlings. However he did his duty in foraging, and supplied his 

 mate with most of the dainties she herself administered to the family. 

 He would alight on a twig some yards away, call her, hand over the 

 supply, then go in search of more. Yet curiously enough, in spite of 

 this nervousness, he often perched on the camera, and broke into 

 full song, while examining every nook and cranny of my hiding-place. 

 As this so often happens with male birds especially amongst the 

 warblers I cannot help thinking that a bird's song is often expressive 

 of alarm or intense excitement, as well as of the softer emotions. 

 Only yesterday (April 29, 1909), while crouching behind some bushes 

 in an osier-bed, for shelter during a storm of sleet and rain, a tiny 

 willow-wren dropped down beside me with a beak full of feathers. 

 Her mate alighted on a twig a few yards off, and with eyes fixed upon 

 me burst into loud song ; the notes were more shrill than usual, and 

 the little final trill less plaintive. 



There was another pair of whinchats nesting within a stone's- 



