312 BRITISH BIRDS. 



PRATINCOLA RUBETRA. 

 THE WHINCHAT. 



(PLATE 9.) 



Ficedula rubetra major sive rubicola, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 432, pi. 24. fig. 1 (1760). 

 Motacilla rubetra, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 332 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 



Latham, (Temminck}, (Naumann), (Gould), (Schlegel), (Neivton), (Dresser}, 



(Heuglin), (Sharpe), &c. 



Sylvia zya, Seep. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 158 (1769). 

 Sylvia rubetra (Linn.), Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 159 (1769). 

 Motacilla fervida, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 968 (1788). 

 Sylvia fervida (GmeL), Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 525 (1790). 

 Saxicola rubetra (Linn.}, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 219 (1802). 

 Pratincola rubetra (Linn.}, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 191 (1816). 

 Curruca rubetra (Linn.}, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc, Brit. Mus. p. 24 (1816). 

 (Enantbe rubetra (Linn.}, Vieill. N. Diet. d"Hist. Nat. xxi. p. 427 (1818). 

 (Enanthe fervida (Lath.), Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxi. p. 436 (1818). 

 Fruticicola rubetra (Linn.), Macgill. Br. B. ii. p. 273 (1839). 

 Rubetra major, Gray, List Gen. B. p. 22 (1840). 

 Pratincola fervida (Gmel.}, Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 179 (1846). 

 Pratincola senegalensis (Briss.}, Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. p. 68 (1857). 



The Whinchat may be said to be pretty generally diffused throughout 

 the three kingdoms, and in certain localities is a common and abundant 

 species. It is rarer and more local in Ireland, and only breeds occasionally 

 in the extreme south-west of England ; whilst in Scotland in many districts 

 it is absent altogether, although it ranges up to the extreme north, and 

 has occasionally been seen on the Orkney Isles. On the Hebrides it is a 

 fairly common bird, and it has once been recorded from the Faroe Islands. 

 The Whinchat breeds in all suitable localities throughout Central and 

 North Europe, ranging from the Arctic circle as far south as the pine- 

 regions extend. It passes through South Europe on migration, a few 

 birds remaining to breed at elevations that place them in a similar climate 

 to their more northern congeners. It winters in parts of South Europe 

 and North Africa, ranging as far south on the latter continent as the 

 Gambia and Fantee country in the west, and Nubia and Abyssinia in the 

 east. The Whinchat is found in the Caucasus. The record of its occurrence 

 in Persia by De Filippi seems doubtful ; and the eastern range of the species 

 is most probably the Ural Mountains. 



The haunts of the Whinchat are the upland wastes quite as much as 

 the lowland pastures. The bird is commonly seen in the large gorse- 

 coverts, from which it receives its name of Whin- or Furze-Chat. Its 



