32 BRITISH BIRDS’ EGGS. 
STONECHAT. 
PRATINCOLA RUBICOLA. 
Pl. VIIL., figs. 18-15. 
Geogr. distr—Central and milder parts of Northern Europe to 
Northern Africa; also India, China and Japan. Resident in Great 
Britain ; common in the West and South of England, in Scotland and 
Ireland. 
Food.—Insects in all stages, and worms. 
Nest.—Formed of hay and moss, lined with hair, fine bents, and 
feathers, and occasionally with wool. 
Position of nest.—Concealed in a collection of whins, under a low 
bush or shrub, on bush-covered heaths or furzy commons. 
Number of eggs.—4-6. 
Time of nidification—_IV-VII; May to June. 
This species is very shy, and its nest difficult to discover, 
but the collector who has noticed the presence of the bird 
may sometimes obtain the nest by watching the hen bird 
from a distance, when she leaves her eggs to feed ; for this 
purpose a field-glass is useful. 
The Stonechat is very active in its movements; it is 
fond of perching on the topmost twigs of hedges and bushes, 
darting away as one approaches; the first time that I saw 
this bird sitting on the top of a furze bush, darting out or 
down after a fly or other insect, and returning to the same 
spray, I concluded that the nest was under that very bush ; 
but as I approached the bird flew far away, settling upon a 
bush at a distance; nevertheless I wasted some time in 
vain search. 
The nest of the Stonechat has been found with eggs 
before the middle of April; it occurs in every county of 
Great Britain, though rare in Orkney and Shetland. 
