174 BRITISH BIRDS. 



The Wheatear breeds under shelter of a tuft or 

 clod, in newly ploughed lands, or under stones, 

 and sometimes in old rabbit burrows ; its nest, 

 which is constructed with great care, is composed 

 of dry grass or moss, mixed with wool, and is 

 lined with feathers, and defended by a sort of 

 covert fixed to the stone or clod under which it 

 is formed : the female generally lays five or six 

 light blue eggs, the larger end encompassed with 

 a circle of a somewhat deeper hue. 



This bird visits us about the middle of March, 

 and from that time till May is seen to arrive; it 

 frequents new-tilled grounds, and never fails to 

 follow the plough in search of insects and small 

 worms, which are its principal food. In some 

 parts of England great numbers are taken in 

 snares made of horse hair, placed beneath a turf; 

 near two thousand dozen are said to have been 

 taken annually in that way, in one district only, 

 and are generally sold at sixpence per dozen.* 

 They leave us in August and September, and 

 about that time are seen in great numbers by the 

 sea-shore, where, probably, they subsist some little 

 time before they take their departure. They are 

 extended over a large portion of the globe, even 

 as far as the southern parts of Asia. 



* Pennant. 



