STONECHAT. 
53 
to prevent tlieir fluttering violently about, or they will ex¬ 
haust themselves with their angry endeavours to escape. 
Not many succeed when taken full-grown : it is better to 
rear them from the nest, which may be done with care : they 
require to be fed in the same manner as the wheatear. 
The entire length of the Stonechat is five inches and a 
half. The beak measures four lines and a half from the 
forehead to the tip : it is black, and furnished at the base 
with bristles : the eyeli-d is black, the iris dusky. The whole 
of the head and neck are black: a patch of pure white 
occupies the space between the ear-coverts and the shoulders: 
the greater coverts of the tertials are white, as well as some 
of the upper coverts of the tail. The rest of the upper 
plumage is black, bordered with rust-colour, the quill-fea¬ 
thers of the wings and tail the same. The breast is rich, 
bright rust-colour, becoming lighter towards the belly and 
under tail-coverts. The tarsi measure eleven lines; these 
and the toes are black and polished, the claws very sharp. 
The Aving measures from the carpus to the tip two inches 
eight lines : the first quill-feather is less than an inch long, 
the second four lines shorter than the third and fourth, which 
are the longest. This is the description of the adult male 
in its summer feathering. 
After the autumnal moult the black feathers of the head 
and neck are bordered with a fringe of rufous, which is still 
broader upon the feathers of the back and scapulars, and the 
breast is not so intense in colour. 
The female has the upper parts of the body brown, bor¬ 
dered with yellowish rust-colour: the throat is dusky, inter¬ 
mixed with white and black. There is a white spot, as in 
the male, upon the greater coverts of the wings, and also 
upon the side of the neck. The under parts are brownish- 
rufous, darkest upon the breast. 
The egg of the Stonechat is figured 56 in the plate. 
