318 BRITISH BIRDS. 



likely place to look for the Stonechat is on the borders of the moors, 

 where their monotony is relieved by patches of broken ground, strewed with 

 rocks and overgrown with bilberry, heath, bracken, and bramble, and 

 studded pretty frequently with bushes, with here and there an occasional 

 birch or mountain-ash tree. But the Stonechat is not exclusively con- 

 fined to the wild barren wastes or to the " roughs " adjoining them, for 

 sometimes it is seen, usually in the winter or spring, in the fields of the 

 well- cultivated districts birds most probably driven in by stress oi! 

 weather, or on migration and merely resting on their journey. 



Although the Stonechat is migratory on the continent, it is a resident 

 bird in the British Islands. It is, however, possible that a few of the 

 birds bred here leave us in the autumn and return in the following 

 spring. In Ireland, although the bird is a resident, its numbers are said 

 to decrease in the summer and again increase in the autumn. 



The Stonechat is usually seen in pairs, indeed it is not improbable that 

 this bird is mated to its partner for life. In its general habits it is very 

 similar to the Whinchat. It flits before the observer, perching on the 

 topmost sprays of heath and bush, or makes long detours to its favourite 

 haunt from which it was first disturbed. Like the Whinchat, its tail is 

 almost incessantly in motion, and its call-note is uttered repeatedly. 

 Always restless and noisy, this little creature is sure to press itself upon the 

 attention, if it be present at all. Perhaps the situations which seem most 

 in harmony with the Stonechat's rich and varied dress are the gorse- 

 coverts in the early spring. The richly attired male bird hops amongst 

 the dense branches of the gorse, or balances himself daintily on some spray 

 of golden bloom, or flutters in the air in butterfly-like flight to poise 

 lightly on some spray where his rich plumage contrasts with the golden 

 tints in such abundance all around. If seriously alarmed, the little creature 

 will seek safety amongst the densest portions of the surrounding vegetation. 

 Rarely, indeed, does the Stonechat visit the ground except for the purpose 

 of searching for food ; nor does it, as a rule, perch as much as the Wheat- 

 ear on the turfs or stones. In the winter the Stonechat may still be seen 

 in its summer haunts. Even though the moorlands are lying deep in snow 

 it will be there to flutter from bush to bush, or start from the places 

 where the snow has been driven past and left ground which may be searched 

 for a scanty sustenance. But if the weather still keeps severe, if the 

 storm continues unabated for any length of time, the Stonechat often 

 comes nearer to the houses, and seeks its food in company with the Robin, 

 the Wren, the Sparrows, and other birds that depend so largely on our 

 bounty in the cold and cheerless winter season. Dixon observes " that 

 one pair of Stonechats keep most closely to a certain locality, from which 

 they seldom stray far. Nor can they be driven away from the haunt of 

 their choice. You may follow them, harass them incessantly, but they will 



