THE BLACK-THROATED CHAT. 309 



a very conspicuous object. The contrast of the black, white, and buff was 

 verv handsome as the bird sat perched on the topmost twig of a bush, 

 jerking its tail up and down as it loudly protested against our intrusion on 

 its home. Most of the birds we saw had insects in their mouths, and 

 were evidently anxious to feed their young, but were afraid to do so until 

 we had retired. In the first week in May the following year I was in the 

 Parnassus and found the Black-throated Chat breeding abundantly in the 

 rocky slopes between the pine-region and the region of the olive and vine, 

 about three thousand feet above the level of the sea. In this district of grass 

 and rocks even- hundred yards brought us to a pair of either the Black- 

 throated or Black-eared Chats, and I obtained several nests on which the 

 females were caught. The nests were usually in the grass in some rock- 

 sheltered crevice, and were loosely made outside of moss and grass, but rather 

 neatly lined with roots and goat's hair. The number of eggs was usually 

 five, but sometimes only four. In their habits these Chats scarcely differ 

 from the Wheatear; they are usually detected on a rock, and are shy 

 enough, except when they have young. Their song is simple but pleasing, 

 and resembles that of our Wheatear. 



The eggs of the Black-throated Chat vary in ground-colour from pale to 

 dark bluish green, spotted with reddish brown of different shades. In 

 some specimens the spots are dark (almost liver-) brown and sharply denned ; 

 in others they are pale, many of them confluent. As a rule, the markings 

 are confined to the large end of the egg, where they usually form a zone ; 

 but sometimes they are irregularly dispersed over the entire surface. 

 Some eggs are almost spotless, whilst others have an indistinct band of 

 very pale spots at the large end. They measure from "8 to '7 inch in 

 length and from -62 to '56 inch in breadth. 



In the male the crown, back, rump, upper tail-coverts, breast, and the 

 rest of the uuderparts, except the throat, are white ; the throat and the sides 

 of the head, extending slightly above the eye, the wings, and upper and 

 under wing-coverts are jet-black; two central tail-feathers black, except at 

 the base, which is white ; outside tail-feathers white, broadly terminated 

 with black, the black tips to the remainder being narrower and generally 

 quite obsolete on several. Bill black ; irides brown ; legs, feet, and claws 

 black. In the female the general colour of the upper parts is almost 

 uniform brown, darker on the wings and darkest on the tail ; the rump 

 and the white on the tail-feathers are the same as in the male; the 

 feathers of the throat are buff, showing half- concealed dark bases. Breast 

 buff, shading into huffish white on the rest of the underparts except the 

 axillaries a^d under wing-coverts, which are dark brown. It is not known 

 that any change in the colour of the plumage is produced by the autumn 

 moult. Birds of the year have the whole of the white feathers (except 

 those of the rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail) suffused with buff, the 



