WHINCHAT 



Pratzncola rubetra 



HK Whinchat is pretty widely distributed throughout the 

 British Islands, and in some localities it is an abundant 

 species. In Ireland it is more locally distributed, but is 

 nevertheless a common bird in some districts. It is a 

 fairly common bird on the Hebrides, and has occasionally 

 been seen on the Orkneys. 



The haunts of the Whinchat are somewhat varied : it 



loves the meadows and pastures quite as much as the upland wastes and the 

 heather-clad mountain-sides. In the large whin-coverts it is also commonly 

 seen, and probably receives its name of Whinchat from this fact ; it is also 

 abundant on the patches of waste ground overgrown with brambles, briar, and 

 stunted bushes. Towards the end of April the Whinchat arrives in its summer 

 quarters, when it may be seen perched on the topmost spray of some bush or 

 tuft of heather, or swaying gracefully up and down on some stout grass stem 

 or tall weed, incessantly waving its tail up and down and uttering its call-note, 

 'u-tick, u-tick, tick, tick' The Whinchat does not show that partiality for rocks 

 and stone walls which the rest of its congeners do, and it is usually observed 

 on some bush or twig when not sitting on the ground. Whinchats never roost 

 in trees or bushes, but always on the ground, among the tangled undergrowth 

 of whin, bracken, or heather. In the dusk of the evening the Whinchat is 

 very active, possibly because its favourite insect food is most easily obtained at 

 that time. 



The food of the Whinchat is almost exclusively confined to insects and 

 their larvae. These are chiefly obtained amongst the herbage, but the bird 

 may often be observed perched on some spray watching the gnats and insects 

 as they fly past, and every now and then taking little flights into the air to 

 capture a fly or a gnat. In spring the Whinchat may be seen on the ploughed 

 VOL. iv. Y 83 



