THE WHEATEAR. 299 



North aiid "West Africa ; and on the east coast of that continent it has been 

 obtained south of the equator. The Asiatic birds winter in Mongolia, North 

 India, and Persia ; and on the American continent it has been found as far 

 south as the Bermudas at that season. 



The breeding-grounds and summer haunts of the Wheatear embrace 

 some of the wildest and most romantic portions of our native scenery. 

 On the breezy wastes near the ocean the low-lying sandy coast or the 

 rough shingly beach and rugged limestone cliffs, or the solitudes of 

 the upland moors and mountains, where the rocks, the heather, and the 

 lochs are the salient features of the landscape, the Wheatear equally 

 abounds. He is also seen on the summer fallows, and haunts old and 

 disused stone-quarries and sand-pits. Favourite situations for the bird 

 are high up the mountain-sides where the peat is cut, the birds frequenting 

 the clearings and incessantly flitting about the peat-stacks and perching 

 on the turf fences or the cots of the peasants, to whom it is known as the 

 " Stone clatter," or, in Gaelic, the " Clacharan." The Wheatear may also 

 often lie seen on the broad tablelands, about old cairns and sheep-folds, 

 and on the road-sides. Even the bare and uninhabited rocky islets of the 

 west of Scotland are usually tenanted by a pair or so of birds, the chief 

 sign of bird-life upon them. The Wheatear is rarely seen in the well- 

 wooded and cultivated districts, except one or two straggling birds, and 

 then usually during the autumnal season of migration. 



The first Wheatears are seen in the south of England at the latter end 

 of March ; and by the first week in April the remotest districts of the 

 Orkneys and Hebrides are tenanted by them. The annual migrations of 

 the Wheatear are a prominent feature in its history. But these movements 

 can seldom be studied except on the coast ; for by the time the birds have 

 reached their more inland haunts, they have dispersed themselves. In the 

 same manner the autumnal movements are made, and the vast gatherings 

 of this bird are only seen ou the sea-shore, where it appears that they 

 finally congregate ere taking their departure for their winter-quarters. 

 Like most birds, the Wheatear performs its migrations in the night, 

 and often arrives on our coasts long before daybreak. From early 

 August until the middle of September, Wheatears are seen in vast 

 numbers on the Downs of Sussex, for the greater part young birds reared 

 in the north and now passing southwards on their autumnal journey. 

 Being at this season excessively fat and rich in flavour, they are subject 

 to an incessant persecution. The birds are snared in great quantities 

 by the shepherds whose flocks are pastured on the open downs. But 

 the Wheatear does not now occur so plentifully as formerly. The decrease 

 in their numbers is probably less owing to this incessant persecution than 

 to the destruction of their favourite breeding-grounds, which are yearly, 

 to such a large extent, placed under cultivation. 



