AVES— WHEAT-EAR. 52t 



generally white, from whence, by some, it has the name of white-tail ; the 

 belly is white, tinged with yellow, dashed faintly with red ; the breast and 

 throat are more deep ; the coverts and quills are black, with their extreme 



edges white, tinctured with a dusky red : the tail is something more than 

 two inches long, and the upper half of it is black, the lower, white. The 

 female wants the black mark across the eyes ; the bar of white across the 

 tail is narrower than that of the male ; and the general colors are more 

 dull. 



The wheat-ear visits England annually in the middle of March, and leaves 

 in September. The females come first, about a fortnight before the males; 

 and they continue to come till the middle of May. In some parts of Eng- 

 land they are found in vast plenty, and are much esteemed. About East- 

 bourne, in Sussex, they are taken in snares made of horse-hair, placed 

 beneath a long turf. As they are very timid birds, the motion even of a 

 cloud, or the appearance of a hawk, will immediately drive them into the 

 traps. These traps are first set every year on St. James's day, (July 25;) 

 soon after which, they are caught in astonishing numbers, considering that 

 they are not gregarious, and that more than two or three are scarcely ever 

 seen flying together. The numbers annually ensnared in the district of 

 Eastbourne alone is said to amount to nearly two thousand dozen. One 

 shepherd has caught eighty-four dozen of them m a day. The birds caught 

 are chiefly young ones, and they are invariably found in the greatest number 

 when an easterly wind prevails ; as they always come against the wind. 



It is supposed, that the immense swarms of these birds which are found 

 on the downs about Eastbourne, are occasioned by a species of fly, their fa- 

 vorite food, that feeds on the wild thyme, and abounds in the adjacent hills. 

 In England they are held in as much estimation as the ortolan is on the con- 

 tinent. A few of these birds breed in the old rabbit-burrows there. The 

 nest is large, and made of dry grass, rabbit's down, a few feathers, and horse- 

 hair. The eggs are from six to eight, and are of a light color. 



66 44* 



