THE WHITE-RUMPED CHAT 73 
of their movements, and their habit of flying on 
in advance as one approaches, and then settling 
again on some prominent point till a nearer approach 
sends it on again with a flick of its tail till it 
finds another suitable perching spot. In the most 
out-of-the-way desolate places, where not one blade 
of vegetation shows itself, and all is yellow sand and 
hard grey rock baking in the sun, there you will as 
likely as not find Chats of one kind or another, the 
only living thing, seemingly, in this great dreary 
expanse ; the dreariness never, however, seems to 
affect them. No one has ever seen a Chat in low 
spirits ; it is always happy and lively, a very Mark 
Tapley amongst birds. 
10 
