CHATS. 481 



The black chat (S. leucura) inhabits the rocky districts of Spain, 

 Italy, and North- West Africa, being replaced in India by a closely- 

 allied species. Partially resident in its breeding-grounds, it is only a summer 

 migrant to many districts ; and it is essentially a bird of desolate mountains, which 

 it enlivens with its lively, active figure. Preferring the wildest and most rugged 

 situations, it is a shy, cautious bird, avoiding the haunts of men ; and as, even when 

 wounded, it generally manages to creep into some deep fissure to die, it is difficult 

 to secure. Brehm states that the male black chat often " either dances about on a 

 precipice or a stone, or runs up the precipice, spreading its tail and wings like a 

 blackcock, nods its head, turns sharp round, rises singing into the air like a tree- 

 pipit, and then gradually sinks with outspread wings to the ground, where it 

 finishes the last strophes of its song in the neighbourhood of the female bird, which 

 quite silently watches the antics of her mate. In all its comical postures it knows 

 how to show its beautiful white tail to the best advantage. If there are any trees 

 or prickly-pear bushes in the mountains, it will also repose on them during the 

 intervals of its dance and song ; otherwise it selects the most prominent positions 

 for its resting-places." The black chat builds about the middle or end of April, 

 placing its nest in some hole or fissure of the rock, frequently in a precipitous 

 situation. The nest is large, loosely constructed of dry stalks of grass, and the finer 

 stems of various wild plants, and lined with soft fibres and hair. The eggs are pale 

 light blue, with a zone of pale reddish spots around the larger end. The song of 

 the black chat is wild and sweet, and has been compared, when heard in autumn, 

 to that of the blue thrush, although it is not so loud and clear, and generally 

 concludes with a peculiar churring sound, resembling that of the black redstart. 

 The adult male in the breeding-season has the entire plumage of the upper and 

 lower parts of the body sooty black, with the exception of the rump and upper 

 tail-coverts, which are pure white. The two central tail-feathers are black, and 

 the remainder white, broadly tipped with black ; while the under tail-coverts are 

 pure white. The female is a duller bird than her mate, being blackish brown 

 instead of sooty black. 



The whinchat (8. rubetra) 1 winters in Africa, extending its range 

 farther north than the stonechat in the breeding-season. Passing 

 through Spain in the month of April, it makes its way to the Arctic Circle by the 

 end of May ; one of the principal routes by which its spring journey is accom- 

 plished lying along the valley of the Rhine, where the species is extremely 

 abundant. The whinchat loves the neighbourhood of grass-meadows, from which 

 the song of the male may often be heard resounding, while his mate is engaged in 

 the duties of incubation. The call-note of the species is loud and monotonous, 

 representing the word " utick" The nest, usually placed upon the ground and 

 adroitly concealed, contains eggs of a bluish green colour, often spotted with fine 

 specks of reddish brown. When the young are fledged, they live in a family-party 

 with the old birds, which exhibit the greatest anxiety over the safety of their 

 progeny. Subsisting upon insects, and especially beetles, the whinchat is very 

 partial to warm, sunny situations, especially if they are well bushed and command 



1 By many ornithologists the whinchat and its allies are separated as a distinct genus, Pratincola, on account 

 of their broader beak and more numerous rictal bristles. 

 VOL. III. 31 



