The Bird Book 



holes in walls or peat-stacks or under large stones 

 projecting from the steep hillsides. 



Like so many of its relations, the Wheatear has 

 a patch of white above the tail, and in his case it 

 is exceptionally large and attracts the eye im- 

 mediately the bird takes wing. The male is a 

 very handsome, engaging bird, bluish-grey above 

 with a black eyestripe or band running from the 

 base of the beak to the ear-coverts. Chin and 

 throat are dull white, which turns to pale cream 

 colour on the breast. Once again the female has 

 not the same share of good looks, being much 

 browner on the upper parts. The birds have a 

 habit of perching on any unevenness of the 

 ground, such as a clod of earth or a stone, and 

 flying from one such eminence to another before 

 you for some distance, and then suddenly returning 

 to the very spot from which they were first 

 disturbed. 



In a ramble over the downs we may be for- 

 tunate enough to flush a Nightjar from its eggs, 

 one cannot say nest, for it makes none. The bird 

 sits so closely and matches its surroundings so 

 well that it is almost impossible to see the bird 

 before it makes off, unless, of course, you have 

 previously found the eggs and know where to look. 



Many birds that nest on the ground trust to 



escape notice owing to the resemblance their 



plumage bears to their environment, and will allow 



you to approach within a few feet of them, pro- 



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