Chats 683 



of a tail which is the equal of the wing in length, graduated and colored black 

 and white, at least in the Indian species, whence their common name. Of the 

 seven species, five are natives of India, the Malay Peninsula, and large islands 

 beyond, while a single one each is found in the Seychelles and Madagascar. 

 The Indian Magpie-Robin, or Dayal Bird (C. saularis), is a common and familiar 

 bird throughout the Indian peninsula, Ceylon, and China, being about eight 

 inches long and having the head, neck, and breast and upper plumage glossy 

 black, the wing with a conspicuous patch of white, while the abdomen and sides 

 are white, as are all but the two median pairs of tail-feathers. In habits it much 

 resembles the Robin, coming about houses and even entering them in quest of 

 its food of insects. Its song resembles that of the English Robin, but is rather 

 louder. It constructs a rough nest in walls, holes in trees, or in houses, laying 

 four or five greenish eggs which are spotted with reddish brown. 



Chats. -The Chats, which comprise some ten genera and over one hundred 

 species, form a natural subfamily (Saocicolina) of the Thrushes, being, as already 

 pointed out, more like Flycatchers in their habits than most of the others, since 

 they secure their insect food by sallies from a fixed perch. They have a rela- 

 tively strong bill, usually well-developed rictal bristles, a generally pointed wing, 

 and a moderate tail ; the sexes are usually very different in coloration. A marked 

 characteristic of the Chats is their habit of vibrating and expanding the tail 

 both while perching and running. 



Whinchat. Passing over a couple of African genera, we may first consider 

 the Whinchat (Pratincola) and its allies, which are characterized by having 

 the bill broad at the base, well notched and beset with numerous strong rictal 

 bristles, while the tail is shorter than the wing. Familiar and generally fearless 

 little birds, they comprise over twenty species often of wide distribution, some 

 of which are migratory and others mainly resident. In all, the sexes are unlike 

 in coloration and there are very marked seasonal differences of plumage. The 

 Whinchat par excellence (P. rubetra} occurs in Europe generally up to the 

 Arctic Circle and east to Persia, migrating in winter to Africa. It is a plain- 

 plumaged bird, a little over five inches long, dusky brown above, the feathers 

 edged with reddish yellow, the wings dark brown with a large patch of white, 

 a similar patch occurring at the base of the tail, while a stripe over the eye, the 

 sides of the neck, and throat are white, and the abdomen and flanks yellowish 

 white; the female is duller and has the white wing-patch smaller. The Whinchat 

 arrives from the south in April or May, beginning the return journey in August 

 or September, adopting certain regular routes along which it is often very abun- 

 dant. It inhabits open grassy country, commons, heaths, pastures, and moun- 

 tain sides, where it spends the greater portion of its time on the ground, though 

 it is fond of perching on bushes and low trees, from which it captures passing 

 insects. It is a restless, active bird, continually flitting about, giving constant 

 voice to its short, sharp call note like the word utick, whence its name of Chat. 

 It has a low but sweet and agreeable, warbling song, which is uttered both from 

 a perch and on the wing, and which is most in evidence during the mating 

 season. The nest, made of grasses and moss and lined with rootlets and 



