314 BRITISH BIRDS. 



the herbage on the ground. Beetles and the small flies so abundant 

 amongst the grass form its favourite fare. It feeds largely on the 

 wireworm ; and this explains the bird''s presence on the fallow land in the 

 spring and on the turnip-fields when the young plants are in their first 

 leaves, the only time at which they are exposed to the inroads of the 

 dreaded " fly/' which also forms part of its sustenance. It is doubtful 

 whether this species feeds on fruit or berries ; but it has been known to 

 eat the growing corn. In the early autumn, when the young birds are 

 with their parents, the pastures are frequented, and the droppings of the 

 cattle searched for beetles and worms. 



Shortly after its arrival the Whinchat is in full song. Its melody is so 

 unobtrusive, so low of tone, that it is very often overlooked. It is a song 

 very similar to the Redstart^'s, and chiefly uttered when the bird is hovering 

 in the air. It will, however, warble from a perch ; but this is, for the 

 most part, after the pairing-season, and usually from some twig near the 

 nest. The Whinchat is one of the first birds to lose his powers of song. 

 He warbles incessantly throughout the month of May, not so frequently in 

 June, and by the first days of July he is sougless, for the autumnal change 

 of plumage is shortly to be made. The call-notes have ah-eady been 

 mentioned; but, in addition to these, it utters a peculiarly low peep, 

 which seems to be a note expressive of anxiety when its nest is 

 menaced. 



By the middle of May the Whinchat is seen in pairs, and after a week 

 or so their nest is completed. If on the moorland, the female bird finds a 

 place to build her nest amongst the heather; if in the gorse-coverts, she 

 will repair to the herbage in their midst, and make her home under some 

 dense and impenetrable whiu-bush ; while if her haunt is the open fields, 

 her home is built amongst the grass, sometimes in the centre of the fields, 

 or at others close to the hedgerows. During the whole time the birds are 

 engaged in building their nest they are the very essence of wariness. 

 Notice, for instance, how the male bird, when bringing materials to the 

 nest, will try to weary your patience by his deceptive motions. From 

 spray to spray he hops, sometimes sitting motionless for a few moments, 

 and then flying to some distant bush, all the time uttering his monotonous 

 note, then back again to alight in the herbage, to reappear the next 

 moment, however, with the materials still in his beak. Aware of your 

 presence he will not visit the nest ; and if you wish to find it you must 

 search the locality closely, and depend upon good fortune for success, for 

 you may rest assured the bird will not betray its whereabouts. The nest 

 of the Whinchat is usually made in a little cavity in the ground, and the 

 thickest tufts of herbage are selected. Dry grass, moss, and a few straws 

 form the outside of the nest ; internally it is composed of rootlets and 



