THE WHINCHAT. 51 



The nest, which is by no means easy to discover, is 

 placed either on the ground, or very close to it, under tufts 

 of grass or sides of railway cuttings ; the lower portion of 

 a small furze bush is a very favourite place. It is built of 

 dried grass stalks and moss, and lined with* finer pieces of 

 the same material, with occasional additions of wool or 

 hair. Five or six eggs are laid, of a glossy bluish-green 

 colour, with very small specks of dull reddish-brown ; the 

 eggs, however, are subject to some little variation. The 

 young Whinchats make their appearance generally during 

 the latter part of May or the early part of June. The 

 parents exhibit considerable anxiety concerning their off- 

 spring, and when the nest is too closely approached both 

 of them usually fly round only at a short distance, settling 

 on any stem of herbage, stone, or tuft of grass, and all 

 the time uttering their peculiar cry or call-note, immediately 

 returning when the intruder has quitted the vicinity. 



The length of the male Whinchat is about five inches 

 and a quarter ; the bill black and shiny ; there is a streak 

 of buff from the base of the beak to the eye; irides 

 brown; over the lore, eye, and ear-coverts an elongated 

 streak of white ; top of the head, neck, back, and smaller 

 wing-coverts a mixture of pale and dark brown, the 

 feathers being dark in the centre and light at the circum- 

 ference ; greater wing-coverts black ; the spurious wing 

 white ; wings dark brown ; secondaries and tertials edged 

 with light brown ; the wings reach nearly to the end of 

 the tail ; the tail is white at the base, the end half being 

 dark brown, edged with pale brown ; the chin and a line 

 from thence reaching beyond the lower edge of the ear- 

 coverts white; throat and breast delicate fawn colour, 

 passing into pale buff on the belly and under tail-coverts ; 



