ACROSS THE OPEN FIELDS AND DOWNS. 71 



and for the remainder of the year its favourite 

 haunt is among the grass. Here it may be seen 

 flitting from stem to stem, or sitting quietly 

 uttering its call- notes with an occasional beat 01' 

 its short tail, ever and anon fluttering into the 

 air to catch a passing insect. The male also 

 often warbles his simple low-pitched song whilst 

 in the air. Mayhap you alarm him, and he 

 flies low across the grass to another stem, or 

 even to the fence which encloses the pond. The 

 Whinchat's food consists of insects and their larvae, 

 and small worms. Many of the insects are caught 

 in the air ; indeed, this bird in numbers of its 

 habits resembles the Flycatcher, and always 

 prefers a bare perching-place where a good look- 

 out can be obtained. The drooping branches of 

 trees in the centre of meadows are always an 

 attractive place for this little bird. The Whinchat 

 is a late breeder, and only one brood is reared 

 in the year. By the beginning of May, not until 

 the middle of that month in northern localities, 

 it may be seen in pairs, and a week or so after 

 this event the nest is completed. When in the 

 gorse coverts it is usually in a similar situation to 

 that used by the Stonechat ; but here in the 

 meadows it is placed among the herbage, olten in 

 the centre of the field. Few nests are harder 

 to find. Years ago I used to employ a method 

 which rarely failed. This was to walk systemati- 

 cally up and down the grass at night when the 

 birds were on their nests ; and as they then sit 

 close, I generally found their home at my feet as 

 the flushed bird rose from under them. The nest 

 is made in a little hollow, and is formed of dry 

 grass and moss, and lined with rootlets and hair. 



