320 



British Cage Birds. 



j end of September, returning again in April and May. They are 

 quite common in France, Germany, and Italy, and also in some 

 parts of Eussia. They frequent heaths and hillsides, more 

 especially those where there is an abundance of furze, as they 

 seem very partial to this plant, perching on it, and singing their 

 scant but cheerful ditty. 



The Whinchat does not appear to be able to endure the cold, 

 and, when winter approaches, leaves its Northern haunts, and 

 betakes itself to warmer and more genial parts of the 

 Southern counties of England. 



It breeds chiefly on heaths and the sides of hills, making 

 its nest on the ground, among the tall grass at the foot of a tree, 

 or the side of a furze bush, but sometimes in a plantation. 

 The nest is composed of dried grass and moss, and is lined with 

 hair or feathers. The hen lays from four to six greenish white 

 eggs, spotted with black, and incubates fourteen days. The nest 

 is difficult to discover, and caution and skill are required to trace 

 it. It can only be done by zealously watching the movements 

 of the parents. The young birds may be taken, when twelve or 

 fourteen days old, and reared by hand ; they then become tame 

 and tractable. Old birds very frequently sulk, and are difficult 

 to reconcile to domestication ; being apt to repine, they rarely 

 live long in confinement. 



Methods of Capture. — These birds are easily caught by 

 fixing limed sticks to the furze bushes where they congregate, 

 or by clearing and baiting a piece of ground, and judiciously 

 arranging limed twigs about. They may likewise be taken by 

 the use of nooses and spring traps. 



When first caught they are, like all their tribe, very difficult 

 to entice to eat. To tempt them, give them flies, small 

 beetles, crickets, &c., followed by mealworms, finely-chopped 

 meat and bread, and bruised hemp seed ; afterwards, feed them 

 in the same manner as other soft-billed birds of this class, such 

 as Fauvettes, Whitethroats, &c. 



Food and Treatment. — In a state of Nature, these birds feed 

 on beetles, flies, moths, earwigs, woodlice, &c. In confinement, 

 they may be fed on the diet recommended for Wheatears, 

 Kobins, or other members of the Motacilla family. 



Rearing the Young. — The young birds should be reared in 

 the same manner as the young of the Wheatear. Before moult- 

 ing, young males have black and rust-coloured spots on the 



