THE WHEATEAR. 171 



sees liim some way off, makes a circular turn and 

 regains the nest. These birds are so often to be 

 seen perched on clods of earth, that the French 

 term the wheatear,* Motfeux, from motte, a clod. 

 Our country people call this bird by a variety of 

 names, as Horsematch, Fallow-finch, Fallow-chat, 

 Fallow- smith, Fallow -smiter, Whitetail, Stone 

 Chucker, Chickell, and Chackbird. It is the 

 Saxicola oenanthe of the ornithologist. 



As autumn approaches large flocks of wheatears 

 are congregated on the downs of Sussex and Kent, 

 whither they have come, singly, or in pairs, from 

 various inland heaths, to assemble for their 

 departure. And now is their season of especial 

 danger, for valued as they are for the table, and 

 called the English Ortolan, they become at this 

 season, in consequence of their numbers, a ready 

 prey to the shepherds who are keeping their flocks 



* The Wheatear is six inches and a half in length. The head, 

 shoulders, and back are light grey ; wings black ; tail-feathers 

 white on their basal parts, and black at their extremities ; the 

 forehead, a line over the eye, and the rump white ; the cheeks 

 and ear-coverts black ; whole under parts buflf, very pale on the 

 belly ; beak and feet black. In winter the grey of the head and 

 shoulders becomes rusty brown; the wing-feathers are tipped 

 with rusty ; and the buflfof the under parts becomes much richer 

 and brighter. 



