300 BRITISH BIRDS. 



In nine cases out of ten the observer will first make acquaintance with 

 the Wheatear when the bird is perched on some wall, rockj or other 

 little eminence. There is no mistaking him — his grey, black, and white 

 plumage, and his neat slender form and monotonous note, making doubt 

 impossible, as he sits eying you suspiciously and incessantly fanning with 

 his tail. His mate also in her more sombre garb is not far away, and sits 

 watching your actions. Should you approach them too closely, they fly a 

 little distance before you and again alight on a rock or piece of turf, 

 retreating as you advance, or making a long detour to their old perching- 

 place, which is usually close to the nest. Its flight is usually a low one 

 and taken by short starts ; and the moment it alights its tail is jerked 

 several times after the manner of the Wagtails. Although a wary bird, 

 still it is by no means a shy one, and often allows a close approach, the 

 more especially should you happen to be near its nest. The Wheatear 

 has a peculiar habit of perching on old walls : it will flit before you inces- 

 santly, dipping behind the wall on the opposite side and again appearing 

 a little distance away, to repeat the manoeuvres as you again approach it. 

 To a certain extent the Wheatear is partial to moist situations, and may 

 often be seen standing or wading in the little pools. Although the bird 

 does not, as a rule, perch amongst the branches or twigs of shrubs and 

 trees, it may frequently be seen on the summit of some tall tuft of heather 

 delicately poised, and seemingly balancing itself by its incessant and rapid 

 beats of the tail, giving it a very pretty appearance. 



The food of the Wheatear is composed of insects, grubs, worms, beetles, 

 and small snails. It may often be seen hopping about with great celerity 

 on the little open patches of turf or marshy places in search of this 

 food, and it sometimes pursues insects in the air like the Flycatcher. 

 Choosing a favourite perching-place — some wall or turf fence, block of 

 peat or rock — it will sit quietly like the Flycatcher, occasionally uttering 

 its sharp call-note and incessantly fanning with its tail. An insect flies past, 

 and the bird hurriedly quits its perch and secures it, and again returns to 

 its old station, having displayed the striking colours of its plumage and its 

 airy butterfly-like flight to perfection. The Wheatear may also often be 

 seen exploring turf fences and old walls — fluttering before them, clinging 

 to them, and taking the various larvte that find concealment among the 

 crevices. Again, the droppings of the cattle and sheep on the moors and 

 upland pastures are explored for little beetles and grubs; and in the 

 late summer, when the moorland fruits are ripe, the birds subsist partly on 

 them — a habit common to all, or nearly all, insectivorous birds in the fruit- 

 season. 



The love-notes of the Wheatear form a short but pleasing song ; and the 

 more particularly are we apt to view his performance with favour, because it 

 generally greets the ear in wild and lonely places. It is uttered shortly 



