280 SYLVIADA. 
the middle of September by hundreds in daily succession, 
Other portions of the downs along the southern coast have 
their share also of these periodical emigrants ; and as they 
are then fat and of good flavour, it is customary to dress 
them by dozens at the inns of the numerous watering-places 
on the Sussex coast. 
The birds are supplied in profusion by the shepherds, 
who form numerous traps for them in the turf of the downs 
over which their flocks and cattle graze. The Wheatear 
trap is formed by cutting an oblong piece of turf from the 
surface, about eight inches by eleven, and six inches thick, 
which is to be taken up ina solid mass, and laid in the 
contrary way both as to surface and direction over the hole, 
thus forming a hollow chamber beneath it. Besides this 
chaniber, two other openings are also cut in the turf, about 
six inches wide and of greater length, which lead into the 
chamber at opposite ends, that the bird may run in under 
the turf through either of them. A small straight stick, 
sharpened at both ends, not very unlike a common match, 
but stouter, is fixed in an upright position a little on one 
side of the middle of the square chamber; the stick sup- 
ports two open running loops of twisted horse-hair placed 
vertically across the line of passage from either entrance to 
the opposite outlet, and the bird attempting to run through 
is almost certain to get his head into one of these loops and 
be caught by the neck: upon the least alarm, even the 
shadow of a passing cloud, the birds run beneath the clod 
and are taken. 
However inefficient this trap may appear to be from my 
description, the success of the shepherds is very extraor- 
dinary. It is recorded in the Linnean Transactions that as 
many as eighty-four dozen have been caught by a shepherd 
in one day; and Pennant states that the numbers snared 
