THE FURZE-CHATS. 
3°3 
than the back, and lined with buff ; under surface of body 
tawny-buff, mottled with brown spots on the lower throat and 
chest. 
Note. — The black breast of the male Stonechat with its large white 
neck-spot always serve to distinguish the bird from the Whinchat, which 
has also a white base to the tail, very conspicuous when the bird is flying ; 
whereas the Stonechat has only a little white spot, formed by the upper 
tail-coverts. The hen Stonechat certainly resembles the Whinchat more 
closely, but is darker in appearance, has no white on the tail, and has a 
large black spot on the lower throat ; the breast and abdomen rufous, in- 
stead of creamy-buff. 
Eange in Great Britain. — The Stonechat is generally distributed 
over the British Islands, but is decidedly a local bird. It is 
generally resident, but is also a migrant to a large extent. 
Eange ontside the British Islands. — A local bird in most parts 
of Europe, being more common in the south. Mr. Howard 
Saunders records it as breeding in Southern Spain, even in 
the hot plains below Seville ; and it is a species which occurs 
throughout the Mediterranean countries. Throughout Cen- 
tral Europe it is a local bird, and does not extend nearly so 
far north as the Whinchat, its northern range being almost 
bounded by the Baltic, with the exception of Southern Sweden, 
where the Stonechat is also found. Eastwards it extends to 
the Volga, but its breeding-range is limited, according to Mr. 
Seebohm, to 50° W. long. From the Pctchora valley eastwards 
through Siberia to China and Japan, and southwards to India 
and the Burmese countries, our Stonechat is represented by an 
allied species, Pratincola maurct , with unspotted white upper 
tail-coverts and entirely black axillaries. In winter the Stone- 
chat visits Senegambia. 
Habits. — The ways of the present species are very like those 
of the Whinchat, but it is more of a heath-frequenting bird 
than the last-named species. It is, in fact, not seen so much 
in the pasture-land or grass-fields, and, being only migratory to 
a small extent, it does not frequent the coast-lands to the same 
extent as the Whinchat. Nevertheless, the two species are 
often found side by side, and they nest in the same districts. 
Their note is similar— u-tack well expresses it — and they have 
the same habits of sitting on the top of a furze-bush and flying 
from one bush to another, when they want to deceive an in- 
