280 SYLVIAD.E. 



the middle of September by hundreds in daily succession. 

 Other portions of the downs along the southern coast have 

 their share also of these periodical emigrants ; and as they 

 are then fat and of good flavour, it is customary to dress 

 them by dozens at the inns of the numerous watering-places 

 on the Sussex coast. 



The birds are supplied in profusion by the shepherds, 

 who form numerous traps for them in the turf of the downs 

 over which their flocks and cattle graze. The Wheatear 

 trap is formed by cutting an oblong piece of turf from the 

 surface, about eight inches by eleven, and six inches thick, 

 which is to be taken up in a solid mass, and laid in the 

 contrary way both as to surface and direction over the hole, 

 thus forming a hollow chamber beneath it. Besides this 

 chamber, two other openings are also cut in the turf, about 

 six inches wide and of greater length, which lead into the 

 chamber at opposite ends, that the bird may run in under 

 the turf through either of them. A small straight stick, 

 sharpened at both ends, not very unlike a common match, 

 but stouter, is fixed in an upright position a little on one 

 side of the middle of the square chamber ; the stick sup- 

 ports two open running loops of twisted horse-hair placed 

 vertically across the line of passage from either entrance to 

 the opposite outlet, and the bird attempting to run through 

 is almost certain to get his head into one of these loops and 

 be caught by the neck : upon the least alarm, even the 

 shadow of a passing cloud, the birds run beneath the clod 

 and are taken. 



However inefficient this trap may appear to be from my 

 description, the success of the shepherds is very extraor- 

 dinary. It is recorded in the Linnean Transactions that as 

 many as eighty-four dozen have been caught by a shepherd 

 in one day ; and Pennant states that the numbers snared 



