THE WHINCHAT. 91 



see the author of them flitting hither and thither in the 

 gloom. The Whinchat is certainly a terrestrial bird as 

 far as roosting is concerned. You never find them re- 

 pair to the branches at eventide for the purpose of re- 

 pose, always doing so on the ground. When first they 

 arrive, we find them roosting on the fallows, but as 

 nesting-time approaches they repair to the prass fields 

 for this purpose. 



By the middle of May the Whinchat is seen in pairs, 

 and a week or so after their nest is completed. If on 

 the moorland, she finds a place to build her nest amongst 

 the heather ; if in the gorse covers, she will repair to 

 the herbage in their midst, and make her little home 

 under some dense and impenetrable whin bush ; while 

 if her haunt is the smiling fields, her home is built 

 amongst the grass, sometimes in the centre of the field, 

 or, at others, close to the hedgerows. Deceptive motions 

 form the protective instinct of the little Whinchat, and 

 their nest is seldom discovered by design. Even when 

 the nest is in course of construction their vigilance is by 

 no means relaxed. I have often noticed the actions of 

 the male bird when bringing materials to the nest, and 

 though I have remained quiet and motionless, he would 

 not betray its whereabouts by visiting it. From spray 

 to spray he hops, sometimes sitting motionless for a few 

 moments, and then flying to some distant bush, to utter 

 his monotonous call note ; then back again, to alight in 

 the herbage, but reappearing the next moment with the 

 materials still in his beak. Half an hour quickly passes, 

 but well dees he know an enemy is near, and I leave the 

 place, completely vanquished. As we stroll over the 

 grass fields we sometimes stumble on the nest by acci- 

 dent. Let us examine this nest which the female bird 

 has just quitted. We find that a little hole has been 



