154 THE VVHEATEAR. 



companion and the friend ; deports himself as a partaker 

 of the importance and superiority, we might almost say 

 of the sorrows and pleasures of the man ; is elated with 

 praise, and abased by rebuke ; submissive when cor- 

 rected, and grateful when caressed : his anxiety and 

 tremor when he has lost his master, and with him him- 

 self, is pitiable ; when deserted by his lord, he becomes 

 the most forlorn of animals, a never-failing victim to 

 misery, famine, disease, and death. His ardor may ex- 

 cite him at times until overpowered by fatigue ; but he 

 is not generally stimulated by pain or menace to at- 

 tempts beyond his natural powers : view him in all his 

 progress, his life will be found to be an easy, and fre- 

 quently an enjoyable one ; and though not exempt from 

 the afflictions of age, yet his death, if anticipated, be- 

 comes a momentary evil. When in a native state, he 

 is a wretched creature, a common beast of the wild, 

 with no innate magnanimity, no acquired virtues ; has 

 no elevation, no character to maintain, but passes his 

 days in contention and want, is base in disposition, 

 meager in body, a fugitive, and a coward. 



The wheatear (sylvia osnanthe) frequents annually 

 our open commons and stone-quarries, and breeds there. 

 I have seen it with nesting materials in its bill, and have 

 had its eggs, though rarely, brought me. This bird 

 visits England early in the spring, and continues with 

 us till nearly the end of September, that is, during the 

 entire breeding season. Yet it is remarkable, notwith- 

 standing its numbers, and the little concealment which 

 its haunts afford, how rarely its nests are found. Its 

 principal place of resort is the South Downs, in Sussex ; 

 and it appears from the accounts of the most experi- 

 enced and credible persons of that county, from whom 

 I have my information, that the females are performing 

 their duties of incubation during the month of March ; 

 as at that time scarcely any but male birds are visible, 

 of which hundreds are then flying about; while the 

 females with their families appear early in May, and 

 are captured afterwards in great numbers ; yet the oldest 

 shepherds have seldom seen their nest! When found, 

 it has been concealed beneath a large stone, or some 



