THE EEDSTAET. 293 



wing-coverts. It is a migratory bird, although it has on one or two occasions been seen in 

 England during the winter. In many of its habits it resembles the stonechat, and might 

 readily be mistaken for that bird by any one who was not w^ell acquainted with the two 

 species. It sings rather constantly, uttering its sweet strains while on the wing, or while 

 perched on some elevated bough. Mr. Yarrell mentions that it is fond of imitating the 

 notes of other birds, and that a caged Whinchat has been heard to mimic the whitethroat, 

 the redstart, willow warbler, missel thrush, and nightingale. The same bird would 

 frequently sing at night. 



Like the wheatear, the Whinchat becomes extremely fat in the autumn, and as it is 

 prized as a delicacy for the table, is rather persecuted by the game-dealers and their 

 emissaries. The food of this bird is the same as that of the stonechat. The Wliinchat 

 arrives in this country about the middle or towards the end of April, according to the 

 locality and the weather. It builds its nest soon after its arrival, and hatches its young 

 about the end of May or the beginning of June. The nest is placed on the ground, is 

 made after the fashion of the stonechat's habitation, and contains from four to six bluish- 

 green eggs, slightly speckled with reddish-brown. Two broods are hatched in the course 

 of the year. 



The colouring of the Whinchat is as follows ; The top of the head, the neck, and the 

 back are mottled brown, each feather being lighter at the circumference than in the 

 centre. An irregular broad brown streak extends from the angle of the mouth to the 

 back of the neck, and above the eye is a long and rather wide streak of white. Another 

 white stripe passes immediately below the dark-brown streak, and extends from the chin 

 almost to the shoulder. The tail is white upon the base, and brown at the tip, each 

 feather being edged with a lighter shade of the same hue. The chin is white, the throat 

 and chest are pale fawn, and the abdomen is buff. The length of the bird is not quite 

 five inches. 



The specific title of phcenicura, which is given to the Eedstaet, signifies ruddy-tail, 

 and is attributed to the bird in consequence of the light ruddy-chestnut feathers of the 

 tail and upper tail-coverts. 



It is a handsomely coloured and elegantly shaped bird, and is a great ornament to 

 our fields and hedgerows. The name of Eedstart is a very appropriate one,» and has been 

 given to the bird in allusion to the peculiar character of its flight. While walking quietly 

 along the hedgerows, the observer may often see a bird flash suddenly out of the leafage, 

 flirt its tail in the air, displaying strongly a bright gleam of ruddy hue, and after a sharp 

 dash of a few yards, turn into the hedge again with as much suddenness as it had dis- 

 played in its exit. These manoeuvres it wdll repeat frequently, always keeping well in 

 front, and at last it wiU quietly slip through the hedge, double back on the opposite side, 

 and return to the spot from whence it had started. 



No one need fancy, from seeing the bird in the hedge, that its nest is in close proximity, 

 for the Eedstart seldom builds in such localities, only haunting them for the sake of 

 obtaining food for its young. The nest is almost invariably built in the hole of an old wall, 

 in a crevice of rock, a heap of large stones, in a hollow tree, or in very thick i\j. I have 

 known this bird to make its nest in quite a small hole in a wall of Merton College, 

 Oxford ; the nest looking out upon a passage, and being within five feet of the ground. 

 The eggs are generally five in number, although they vary from four to seven, and are of 

 a beautiful blue, with a slight tinge of green. They are not unlike those of the common 

 hedge sparrow, but are shorter and of a different contour. 



The Eedstart has a very sweet song, which, although not very powerful, is soft and 

 melodious, bearing some resemblance to that of the nightingale. The bird has a habit of 

 sitting on the top of a wall or some elevated spot, and there pouring forth his song, look- 

 ing about in every direction, as if inviting a challenge, and spreading and closing his tail 

 at intervals. Presently, without ceasing the song, he will dart off to another spot, in one 

 of the short uncertain flights which characterise the species, and settling upon some fresh 

 perch, sing with new vigour. It often happens that in the breeding season the Eedstart 

 continues to sing far into the night, and recommences at the earliest approach of dawn. 



