202 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



It is very seldom that Wheatears perch on trees, but I have 

 seen them do so, and they have not avoided the higher branches. 

 The male bird sings very prettily, and it has often been my good 

 fortune to hear it in the rock -strewn mountains of North Wales. 

 The song consists of four or five rich, clear, mellow notes 

 succeeded by an equal number of trilling ones, which might 

 easily be mistaken for some of the tremulous strains of the 

 Whinchat, though they are more musical and less harsh. It 

 sings when stationary as well as in the air, and a pretty sight it 

 is to watch it quit its perch on a rock, mount into the air after 

 the manner of the Whitethroat, twist and jerk about, singing all 

 the while, and then descend to its original starting point. It 

 frequently runs two or three steps before taking wing, and when 

 apprehensive of danger it repeats again and again what sounds in 

 my ears like trz-wee, wee, trz-wee, wee. The bird is not un- 

 common on the mountainous tracts of rocky moorland in North 

 Wales, as I have already intimated, and a favourite place for its 

 nest, according to my observations, is in a stone wall, though I 

 have also met with nests in rabbit-burrows, as well as in the 

 cavities beneath great boulders of rock. I found the species 

 especially abundant on Lundy Island in the spring of 1897. I am 

 always glad to get a chance of hearing a song which has been much 

 vaunted by authors, though few birds are so speedily on the alert 

 as Wheatears when they mark the approach of an intruder. The 

 male bird, perched conspicuously on some rock or wall, is almost 

 certain to catch the eye first, but probably, long before you have 

 seen it, it has seen you, and telegraphed a warning note to its 

 mate. It will fly about from boulder to boulder, out of sight one 

 moment and reappearing the next ; but do not be misled by an 

 apparent indifference to your presence. Though you may note 

 it dart forth and catch an insect, it is all the while vigilant and 

 suspicious to a degree, and though you may crouch in the 

 bracken and keep watch for an hour, it has not forgotten, nor 

 will you entrap it into overlooking, your presence ; while as to 

 betraying the whereabouts of the nest, depend upon it, it will be 

 pure guesswork if you find it. It is a vivacious little bird to 

 watch, and seems to have a high opinion of its own superior 

 intelligence ; while the rapid up-and-down movements of the 

 tail, which appears to be ever in motion, is a habit which we are 

 more apt to associate with members of the Wagtail family. 



