fields searching for wire-worms, of which it is specially fond, and in early 

 summer it frequents the turnip-fields, where it devours enormous quantities 

 of the dreaded ' fly ' so destructive to the crop. The Whinchat does not appear 

 to feed on fruit or berries, but it has been observed to devour the tender 

 shoots of grass or growing corn. 



The song of the Whinchat is very unobtrusive, and is of so low a tone that 

 it is often overlooked. It reminds one rather of the Redstart's notes, and 

 is usually uttered as the bird hovers over some favourite perch. By the end 

 of June, when the young birds are hatched, the Whinchats have ceased to 

 sing, and as they do not commence again till next season, it seems probable 

 that only one brood is raised in the year. 



By the middle of May the birds have all paired, and nest-building has 

 begun. Among the meadows and pastures the nest is built in the dense grass 

 growing round some thistle or dock-weed ; in waste ground it is often built 

 in some convenient hollow beneath a whin-bush or under some fern among 

 the tall grass ; on the edge of the moors it is artfully concealed among the 

 tufts of heath. While the birds are engaged in building their nests they 

 are very wary, and he must be a patient watcher who would succeed in out- 

 witting them. Nothing will make them go to their nest as long as they 

 are aware of his presence, and they will try all sorts of ruses to make him 

 imagine their nest is in quite a different place. 



The nest is usually made in a little cavity in the ground among dense 

 herbage. Externally it is composed of dry grass, moss, and a few straws, 

 more rarely twigs ; the inside is made of fine rootlets and horse-hair, somewhat 

 loosely put together, and forming a rather deep cup. When the nest is 

 approached, great anxiety is shown by the birds ; they will fly round and round 

 the intruder's head uttering their well-known call-notes, and occasionally a low 

 'Peep, peep? and sometimes flutter about among the grass as if wounded. 



From four to six or seven eggs are laid. They are greenish blue, rather 

 like a Hedge Sparrow's, but more glossy in texture, and slightly smaller, as a 

 rule ; they are also more pointed at both ends. The markings are light brown 

 in colour, and are usually rather faint ; they are generally in a zone round one 

 end of the egg. Specimens are often met with which are absolutely spotless. 

 They vary in length from "80 to 71 inch, and in breadth from '61 to '55 inch. 



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