270 SYLVIAD^. 



April ; these are of a pale greyish blue, the larger end 

 minutely speckled with dull reddish brown : the length 

 of the egg is about eight lines and a half, and seven lines 

 in breadth. The young are usually hatched by the mid- 

 dle of May ; and the parent birds are then clamorous 

 and bold, practising various tricks to entice intruders from 

 their nest. 



The Stonechat is common in the counties along our 

 southern coast to the Irish Channel ; it is also a constant 

 resident in the south, the west, and the north of Ireland. 

 It is observed constantly in Suffolk, Norfolk, Yorkshire, 

 and Northumberland ; Mr. Selby observed it in Suther- 

 landshire ; and Mr. Macgillivray includes it in his Cata- 

 logue of the Birds of the Hebrides. 



M. Temminck mentions that specimens of the Stonechat 

 were sent by Pallas from some part of Russia, but the 

 particular locality is not named : these specimens, it is 

 stated, did not differ from others received from South 

 Africa. The Stonechat is common during summer in Ger- 

 many, France, Provence, and Italy ; it is found at Corfu, 

 Sicily, Crete, and was observed by Mr. Strickland at 

 Smyrna. Mr. Swainson includes the Stonechat among 

 the birds of Senegal ; it is found at Tangiers, and Le 

 Vaillant and Dr. Smith obtained specimens at the Cape. 

 In a direction east of Europe, the geographical range of 

 this little bird is extensive. In India, the Stonechat has 

 been found by Colonel Sykes, Major Franklin, and Mr. 

 Blyth. M. Temminck includes the Stonechat in his Ca- 

 talogue of the Birds of Japan. 



The adult male, in May, has the beak black ; the irides 

 dark brown; the head, neck, and back, nearly black; 

 wing-coverts of the tertials white, but partly hid by the 

 other coverts, which are blackish brown, edged with lighter 



