482 PERCHING BIRDS. 



a southerly aspect. It leaves its home in Central and Northern Europe in August 

 and September, rarely, if ever, delaying its departure into late autumn. The adult 

 male has the crown and upper-parts blackish brown, many of the feathers having 

 light buff edges. The tail is white, banded with blackish brown for the terminal 

 half, while the throat and under -parts are pale fawn colour, varying much in 

 intensity. A conspicuous white eyebrow is also present. 



The stonechat (8. rubicola) is found throughout Central and 

 Stonechat. , , T ., -^ , . ., . . 



several parts or Northern Europe, being a resident in many places., 



while to others it is but a summer or winter migrant. During the summer, generally 

 to be found on common lands, chalk-downs, or other open places, the stonechat is 

 an early breeder, nesting in April, and concealing its choice of a site with much 

 care. In Oxfordshire stonechats seem to be very partial to aquatic situations, one 

 old male having haunted a certain wet ditch close beside the Isis for several months 

 during one winter ; and they have been known to build at the bottom of a hedge 

 adjoining a flooded meadow. The stonechat builds its nest of moss and dried grass, 

 lining it with feathers and hair ; the eggs being pale greenish blue, finely spotted 

 with reddish brown. The stonechat has a short but rather pretty song, and is a 

 somewhat noisy species when its haunts are invaded. The adult male in 

 summer has the entire head and back glossy black, with a white collar ; the tail 

 is blackish brown, the outer feathers having the outer web light buff; and the 

 under-parts are rufous, but vary considerably in different individuals. The female 

 is a browner bird than her mate. This group of the genus is represented by 

 several species in India, where they are commonly known as bush-chains. 



The redstarts and robins, together with the Indian group of fork- 

 Fork-Teiils 



tails, bring us to another subfamily (Ruticillince), differing mainly 



from the chats in their habits ; these birds being terrestrial, and capturing their 

 insect-prey on the ground, instead of flying from a perch and returning thereto, 

 after the manner of the fly-catchers. They have a slender, compressed beak, a 

 long metatarsus, and feet well adapted for running; and the majority of the 

 species are denizens of Europe and Asia, north of and including the Himalaya. 

 The first genus of this subfamily is formed by the Indian fork-tails (Henicurus), 

 which are small birds, having the general appearance of pied wagtails, but differing 

 from them in possessing a forked tail and ten primaries, together with a coarse 

 bill. The type has the bill nearly as large as the head, stout and straight ; the 

 rictal bristles are well developed ; the wing is large, the first primary being about 

 half the length of the second ; and the tail is much longer than the wing, and 

 deeply forked ; the outer tail-feathers being one-third longer than the innermost 

 ones. Fork-tails are chiefly found in the Himalaya, and generally in the neighbour- 

 hood of mountain-streams, but they also range into Tenasserim. All are solitary in 

 their habits, and move their tails incessantly up and down after the manner of 

 wagtails, and are in the habit of generally perching on rocks or bare branches near 

 the ground. 



Exclusively confined to Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia 



north of the Himalaya, the redstarts (Ruticilla) are characterised by 



the short, slender, black beak, and finely developed rictal bristles, and the black 



and smooth legs ; while most of them have the rump and tail red. In Europe 



