154 
THE WHEATEAR. 
companion and the friend ; deports himself as a partaker 
of the importance and superiority, we might almost say 
of the sorrows and pleasures of the man ; is elated with 
praise, and abased by rebuke ; submissive when cor- 
rected, and grateful when caressed : his anxiety and 
tremor when he has lost his master, and with him him- 
self, is pitiable ; when deserted by his lord, he becomes 
the most forlorn of animals, a never-failing victim to 
misery, famine, disease, and death. His ardor may ex- 
cite him at times until overpowered by fatigue ; but he 
is not generally stimulated by pain or menace to at- 
tempts beyond his natural powers : view him in all his 
progress, his life will be found to be an easy, and fre- 
quently an enjoyable one ,* and though not exempt from 
the afflictions of age, yet his death, if anticipated, be- 
comes a momentary evil. When in a native state, he 
is a wretched creature, a common beast of the wild, 
with no innate magnanimity, no acquired virtues ; has 
no elevation, no character to maintain, but passes his 
days in contention and want, is base in disposition, 
meager in body, a fugitive, and a coward. 
The wheatear (sylvia oenanthe) frequents annually 
our open commons and stone-quarries, and breeds there. 
I have seen it with nesting materials in its bill, and have 
had its eggs, though rarely, brought me. This bird 
visits England early in the spring, and continues with 
us till nearly the end of September, that is, during the 
entire breeding season. Yet it is remarkable, notwith- 
standing its numbers, and the little concealment which 
its haunts afford, how rarely its nests are found. Its 
principal place of resort is the South Downs in Sussex; 
and it appears from the accounts of the most experi- 
enced and credible persons of that county, from whom 
I have my information, that the females are performing 
their duties of incubation during the month of March ; 
as at that time scarcely any but male birds are visible, 
of which hundreds are then flying about; while the 
females with their families appear early in May, and 
are captured afterwards in great numbers ; yet the oldest 
shepherds have seldom seen their nest ! When found, 
it has been concealed beneath a large stone, or some 
