416 THE THRUSH FAMILY 



evinced considerable satisfaction at his handsome appearance and 

 dashing manners. 



The stonechat has three distinct notes, which are described by 

 Naumann as follow : " The usual call is a clicking ' tea,' which is also 

 the note of the young, then a dis-syllabic 'st-tich,' and in addition an 

 alarm-note uttered when any one is near the nest." This alarm-note 

 is the 't'chat' we hear so frequently during the breeding season, 

 and which is therefore so closely associated with the stonechat; 

 occasionally it is preceded by a plaintive ' tr'weet.' 



The whinchat's call-note resembles the stonechat's a short " 'tza 

 tza," but when excited it utters a sharp " u-tichi," and as alarm 

 increases the " tichi " is repeated three or four times accompanied by 

 a jerking of the tail and a slight fluttering of the wings ; this latter 

 note generally indicates the presence of the nest. 



The stonechat's short, crisp song is usually sung when the bird is 

 perching, but sometimes also when he is on the wing, but I believe 

 the flight-song is not so frequently indulged in after the early courting 

 days are over. Mr. W. H. Hudson has minutely described this 

 " song and dance." " To sing, the stonechat flies up almost vertically 

 from his perch on the topmost spray of a bush, to a height of 40 

 or 50 to 100 feet, and at the highest point pours out a rapid series 

 of double notes, the first clear and sharp, the next deeper and 

 somewhat throaty, then the clear again, the sound rising and falling 

 rhythmically, and as he sings he drops rapidly a distance of a couple 

 of feet, then flutters up and drops again and again." 1 This song is 

 beautiful, and quite unlike any other British species. Nevertheless 

 the song is not vociferous. It may be heard before dawn and 

 sometimes in the night. Towards the middle of June, when the 

 young of the second brood are fledged, it ceases. Personally, I 

 believe that when birds, which are not habitually night singers, burst 

 into song at unwonted hours, it is because of some sudden alarm. 

 When I have been sleeping out of doors, I have noticed that the 



1 Nature in Downland, p. 156. 



