The Wheatear. 29 



Family— TURDID/E. Subfamily— TURBINE. 



The Wheatear. 



Saxicola cenanthe, LiNN. 



ALTHOUGH Howard Saunders associates the Wheatears with the " Bush- 

 chats," he points out the fact that they differ in their longer tails and 

 white rumps, and states also Dr. Sharpe's belief that the members of the genus 

 Pratincola are Flycatchers fMuscicapidoeJ : the habits and actions of Saxicola and 

 Pratincola are certainly not exactly similar, although a general likeness in the 

 distribution of colours on the head, gives one the impression of relationship 

 between them. 



The Wheatear is a very remarkable bird in appearance, its head appearing to 

 be far too large for its body : in stuffed specimens its whole character is invariably 

 lost by the taxidermist, who produces an indentation, where none exists in life, 

 just at the back of the skull : illustrations also, being mostly taken from prepared 

 skins, do not usually do justice to the bull-headed Robin-like aspect of the living 

 bird. 



Occurring all over the Western Palsearctic Region from Greenland to Africa, 

 and eastward through Siberia to North China, the Wheatear is also found in 

 Eastern N. America and Behring's Straits ; it is common, though local, throughout 

 Great Britain, arriving early in March and departing in September ; but its 

 numbers increase as one travels northward, comparatively few pairs breeding in 

 the southern counties. In winter it occurs both in North and West Africa, whilst 

 Asiatic examples migrate to Mongolia, N. India and Persia, and American birds 

 travel as far as the Bermudas. 



The male Wheatear in breeding plumage has the upper parts grey, the wings 

 dark brown and black, the rump white, the two central tail-feathers black to near 

 base, the others white, broadly tipped with black ; forehead and superciliary streak 

 white ; lores and ear-coverts black ; under surface of body pale buff, slightly deeper 

 on throat and breast ; but in old birds almost white, with throat and breast buff; 

 under wing-coverts and axillaries mottled with dark grey and white ; bill black, 

 feet black, iris dark brown. 



The female is huffish brown, darker above, the ear-coverts dark brown instead 

 of black. In autumn owing to the broad pale buff borders to the new feathers, 

 the male nearly resembles the female; but during the winter these borders seem 

 to be partly lost and the colour (as with that in the plumage of many other birds) 



