402 SAXICOLA (ENANTHE. 



which is the same with other beetle- consuming birds— the Orange-legged 

 Hobby QFalco vespertinus, Linn.) for one. 



The feathers of the throat of the Wheatear fall out of the skin very soon 

 if it is left to get stale. 



What effect this food has upon the consumer I do not know. Those 

 persons who devour the birds may not think that they are only eating 

 beetles in another form. A fish-diet is said to be good for the brain, on 

 account of the phosphorus— a fact, if it is one, which I commend to my 

 brother editors ! 



Be that as it may, there is quite a demand for Wheatears ; and nobody 

 thinks of any thing but " how good they are ! '' just as they eat the trail of 

 the Woodcock and Snipe, which " always have their intestines stuffed full of 

 t^ni^e and the eggs of these worms ; every bird contains them by thousands. 

 Fortunately we cannot be infested with the teenia of the Snipe and the 

 Woodcock" ('Animal Parasites,' by P. J. Beneden, p. 229). 



For various reasons, Wheatear- catching (or, as they call it here, 

 ''cooping") is going out. First, the owners of the finest sheep in the 

 world wish their men to attend to their business, and they had rather pay a 

 little for the value of the birds than have their flocks neglected. I have 

 heard of one man who purchased a watch by sale of the eggs alone. Then, 

 again, the downs are much ploughed up now% which makes a diff^erence. 



After the Wheatear-season is over, the shepherds meet at a public- 

 house to settle the accounts and receive the money. 



