THE STONECHAT. 317 



PRATINCOLA RUBICOLA. 

 THE STONECHAT. 



(PLATE 9.) 



Ficedula rubetra, Briss. Oni. iii. p. 428, pi. 23. fig. 1 (1760). 



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



(Bechstein), (Temminck), (Nautnanri), (Yarrell), (Schlegel), (Newton), (Dresser), 



(Bonaparte), &c. 



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

 Sylvia rubicola (Linn.}, Lath. Ind. Oni. ii. p. 523 (1790). 

 Saxicola rubicola (Linn.\ Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 220 (1802). 

 Pratincola rubicola (Linn.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 192 (1816). 

 Curruca rubicola (Linn.'), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mas. p. 24 (1816). 

 Fruticicola rubicola (Linn.), Macgill. Brit. B. ii. p. 279 (1839). 



The Stonechat closely resembles the "Whinchat in form and general 

 habits, and slightly so in appearance, a circumstance which has caused 

 much confusion to arise between the two species ; for in almost all parts 

 of England the Whiuchat, by far the commonest species, popularly does 

 duty for the Stonechat, and in many parts of Scotland the Wheatear is 

 universally known by that name. But, unlike the Whinchat, the present 

 species is, in our islands at least, a constant resident, and may be seen in its 

 favourite haunts at all times of the year. Its distribution in Great Britain 

 is somewhat local, much more so than that of the Whinchat. The Stone- 

 chat breeds in suitable localities in all the counties of Great Britain and 

 Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Hebrides, and is occasionally found 

 on the Orkney and Shetland Isles, but is not known to breed there. On 

 the continent the Stonechat is not found north of the Baltic or east 

 of the valley of the Volga ; but it is a resident in North Africa, Palestine, 

 and Asia Minor. 



The Stonechat has several very near allies, with some of which it ap- 

 parently interbreeds, as intermediate forms occur. In North-east Russia 

 and Siberia P. maura is found, with black axillaries and unspotted white 

 rump. In North-east Africa P. hemprichii occurs, with more white than 

 black on the tail in thorough-bred birds. In South Africa our species is 

 represented by P. torquata, in which the rump is white and the chestnut 

 on the breast more restricted. 



The haun\s of this charming little bird are almost exclusively confined 

 to the heaths and commons and rough open wastes, rock-strewn and 

 overgi-own with tangled briars and brambles and a few stunted bushes. A 



