NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



patch at the base of its tail, seen most 

 conspicuously when the bird is flying 

 away from the 

 observer. 



This species in- 

 habits high moor- 

 land districts 

 where rocks and 

 solitude are the 

 most striking fea- 

 tures of the land- 

 scape, but it is a 

 mistake to say 

 that the cultiva- 

 tion of land 

 banishes it, for I 

 have met with it 

 breeding on 

 ploughed land in 

 the Highlands, 

 Hebrides, and 

 Shetlands quite 

 commonly. 



The nest is sit- 

 uated under loose slabs of rock, in 

 holes in rough, dry stone walls, peat 

 stacks, and rocky banks. I have met 

 with it on two or three occasions in 

 the old nesting burrows of rabbits. It 

 is made of dead grass, rootlets, and 

 196 



MALE WHEATEAR BRINGING 

 FOOD FOR YOUNG. 



