19 s cassei.l's book of birds. 



of Southern Australia. Like its congeners, it is lively and active, and ever watchful against the 

 approach of danger. Like them it selects a stone or leafless branch when about to perch, and if 

 disturbed, flies swiftly for a few hundred yards before it again settles. Its step upon the ground is 

 rapid, and generally accompanied by a whisking motion of the tail. The song of the male is 

 extremely pleasing, and is heard constantly about September or October, when the breeding season 

 commences. The nest is formed of small twigs, grass, lined with hair or some similar material • it is 

 usually concealed beneath shrubs or brushwood, at an elevation of only a few inches from the ground. 

 The eggs, three or sometimes four in number, are of a pure white, adorned with reddish brown 

 spots or markings, most numerous at the broad end. The young are carefully tended by their 

 parents, who, however, often betray the situation of the nest, either by their evident uneasiness at the 

 approach of a stranger, or by affecting lameness or exhaustion, in the hope of turning the attention of 

 an unwelcome visitor from their helpless charge to themselves. Two broods are produced during the 

 season, the first family going forth into the surrounding country till the second batch of nestlings are 

 able to support themselves, when they all join company with the parent birds. 



The CHATS (Saxicola) are slender birds, with awl-shaped beaks, which are very lightly incised 

 on the margin, slightly curved at the tip, and very broad at the base. The tarsi are high and 

 slender, the toes of moderate size, the wings blunt, the tail short, broad, and straight at the extremity. 

 The plumage is rich and lax ; it varies considerably in its coloration, but is remarkable from the 

 circumstance that the tail, which is in most instances white, is always of a colour different from the 

 body. These birds are met with extensively in Europe and Asia, and are particularly numerous 

 upon the African continent. We shall, however, confine ourselves to a minute description of but a 

 few species, as the habits of all are very similar. 



THE FALLOW CHAT, OR WHEATEAR. 

 The Fallow Chat, or Wheatear (Saxicola cenanthe), is of a light ash-grey upon the upper part 

 of the body. The breast, brow, and a. band over the eyes, are white ; the under side and rump 

 reddish yellow ; a patch upon the cheek-stripes, the wings, and two centre tail-feathers are black ; the 

 rest are white towards the base, and black at the tip. The eye is brown, the beak and feet black. 

 After the moulting season the upper part of the plumage of the male is rust-red, and the under side 

 reddish yellow. In the female reddish grey predominates. The brow and a stripe over the eyes are 

 dirty white, the bridles pale black, the under side light brownish red ; the feathers of the wings are 

 dark grey, edged with light yellow. The length of this species is six inches and a quarter, and the 

 breadth eleven inches ; the wing measures three inches and a half, and the tail two inches and a 

 quarter ; the female is a few lines smaller than her mate. The Wheatear both dwells and breeds 

 in the British Islands, and throughout that portion of Europe that lies between the Alps, Pyrenees, 

 Balkan Mountains, and Lapland ; in Asia it is met with in corresponding latitudes ; occasionally it 

 appears in the upper provinces of India ; we have also seen it ourselves in many parts of Africa. In 

 Southern Europe this bird is replaced by two nearly-related species — 



THE EARED STONE CHAT AND BLACK-THROATED STONE CHAT. 

 The Eared Stone Chat (Saxicola aurita) and the Black-throated Stone Chat (Saxicola 

 stapazind). The first of these is six inches long, and ten inches and a half broad ; the wing measures 

 three inches and a third, and the tail two inches and a half. The plumage on the upper part of the 

 body is whitish grey ; that of the under side greyish reddish white ; a narrow line that passes from 

 the beak to the eyes, an oval patch on the cheek, the wings, central tail-feathers, and the tips of those 



