THE WHEATEAR. 309 
of a peculiar smooth olive-brown, which distinguishes them at once from the 
egg of any other British bird of the same size. 
The colour of the Nightingale is a rich hair-brown upon the upper part of 
the body, and greyish white below, the throat being of a lighter hue than the 
breast and abdomen. The entire length of the bird rather exceeds six 
inches. 
A SMALL but very interesting group of birds now claim our attention. 
These are the Erythacinz, or Redbreast kind, including the Redbreast, the 
Wheatear, and other birds. 
The WHEATEAR, or FALLOW CHAT, is a well-known visitant of the British 
Isles, and on account of the delicate flavour of its flesh when fat, is sadly 
persecuted throughout the whole time of its sojourn. 
Being in great favour for the table, where it is popularly known as the 
English ortolan, and consequently fetching a good price'in the market, it is 
caught in great numbers, and sold to the game-dealers of London. The trap 
by which it is captured is a remarkably simple affair. consisting merely of an 
oblong piece of turf cut from the soil, and arranged crosswise over the 
cavity from which it was taken. A horsehair noose is supported under the 
turf by means of a stick, and the trap is complete, needing no bait or super- 
vision. It is the nature of the Wheat- 
ear to run under shelter at the least 
alarm ; a passing cloud sufficing to 
drive it under a stone or into a hole 
in a bank. Seeing, therefore, the 
sheltering turf, the Wheatear runs 
beneath it, and is caught in the noose, 
These simple traps are much used by , 
the shepherds, who can inake and 
attend to four or five hundred in a day, 
and have been known to catch upwards 
of a thousand Wheatears within twenty- 
four hours. 
As a general rule, the nest of the. 
Wheatear is hidden in the most per- 
fect manner, the bird ordinarily choos- 
ing to place its domicile within the REDSTART.—(Ruticilla phanicura.) 
recesses of large stone-heaps, in deep 
rocky crannies, and in similar loca- 
lities ; so that, even if it should be discovered, the work of obtaining it is 
very severe. In some pats of the cliff-bound sea-coast, the Wheatear’s nest 
is so deeply buried in the rocky crevices, that the only mode of obtaining 
the eggs is to hook out the nest by means of a bent wire at the end of a 
long stick. 
The upper part of the body is light silver-grey, and the quill feathers of 
the wings, together with their coverts, are deep black. The middle tail- 
feathers and the tips of the various rectrices, are of the same hue, and a 
black streak passes from the edge of the beak to the ear, enveloping the eye, 
and spreading widely upon the ear-coverts. The breast is buff, with a 
decided orange tinge, and the abdomen is beautifully white. The female is 
not quite so handsome; the wings, tail, and ear-coverts being dark brown, 
and the lighter portions of the body tinged with brown. The total length of 
the bird is about six inches and a half. 
THE specific title of raenzcura, which is given to the REDSTART, signifies 
“ruddy-tail,” and is attributed to the bird in consequence of the light ruddy 
chestnut feathers of the tail and upper tail-coverts. 
