14 THE REDSTART 



into the belief that they are better worth caring for than their 

 young ones, and may be caught if we wUl only be silly enough to 

 chase them ? I do not know ; but whatever their thoughts may 

 be, we certainly are in them, and as certainly they are not delighted 

 at our presence. We walk on, and suddenly they are gone ; but 

 presently we encounter another pair of the same birds, who if 

 we loiter about wiU treat us in exactly the same way, but, if we 

 pass on steadily, will take little notice of us. 



We have little more to say of the Stonechat. It is not often 

 heard to sing ; the reason probably being that, when listeners are 

 in the way, it is too anxious about its nest to be musical. Its 

 food is principally insects, which it often catches on the wing. 

 In winter (for they do not aU leave us at this season) it feeds on 

 worms, etc. Its nest is remarkable more from its size and position 

 (usually in the centre of a furze-bush), than for neatness of structure. 

 It lays five eggs. Its name Rubicola denotes a dweller among 

 brambles, and is by no means inappropriate, as it rarely perches 

 on any bush exceeding a bramble in size. Its names Stonechat, 

 Stoneclink or Stonechatter, are evidently to be traced to the similarity 

 between its note of alarm and the striking together of two pebbles. 



THE REDSTART 



RUTICILLA PHCENICURA 



Forehead white ; throat black ; head and upper part of the back bluish grey ; 

 breast, tail-coverts and tail (except the two central feathers, which are 

 brown), bright rust-red ; second primary equal to the sixth. Female — 

 upper parts grey, tinged with red ; larger wing-coverts edged with 

 yellowish red ; throat and abdomen whitish ; breast, flanks, and under 

 tail-coverts, pale red. Length, five inches and a quarter. Eggs uniform 

 blue. 



Although of no great size this summer visitor is pretty sure to 

 attract attention by its peculiar colouring ; its red tail and white 

 crown being sufficient to distinguish it from every other British 

 bird. It is familiar, too, in its habits, commonly resorting to gardens, 

 and searching for its favourite food, worms and insects, on the 

 lawn, and in orchards. It is local rather than rare, for whUe there 

 are some places to which it regularly resorts every year, there are 

 others in which it is never seen. Redstarts arrive in this country 

 about the end of April, and soon set about the work of buUding 

 their nest. This they generally place in a hole in a wall or hollow 

 of a tree, but sometimes by the mossy stump or amongst the exposed 

 roots of a tree. Occasionally they select a quaint domicile, a garden 

 pot, for example, left bottom upwards, or a sea-kale bed. A stiU 

 stranger instance is that of a pair of Redstarts, who, themselves or 

 their descendants,were for twenty years located in the box of a wooden 

 pump. On one occasion, the pump being out of order, the owner 



