3°4 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
truder as to the position of their nest. Owing to the white 
patch on the neck, the bird is more easily observed than the 
Whinchat, and the females of both species are equally shy, and 
adopt the same tactics when driven from their nest. The 
Stonechat, like its ally, catches insects in the air, and some- 
times even captures butterflies on the wing ; but it is often 
seen on the ground, where it picks up worms and grubs. 
Neat. — Always on the ground and well concealed, gener- 
ally with a “ run ” extending for some distance, and serving 
to make the discovery of the nest still more difficult. It is 
rather more roughly constructed than that of the Whinchat, 
and the materials are coarser, consisting of dry grass and 
■rootlets, with a little moss and horsehair. The lining consists 
of finer grass and rootlets, with a little hair and an odd feather 
•or two. 
Eggs. — Four to six in number. The ground-colour is pale 
bluish-green, and the spots are light reddish-brown, but much 
larger and more distinct than in the eggs of the Whinchat. 
'They are often found collected towards the larger end of the 
egg, where they form a zone or completely cloud the larger 
•end. Some of the clutches incline somewhat to olive-greenish. 
Axis, 075-0-8 inch ; diam., o'5-o‘6. 
THE ACCENTORS. FAMILY ACCENTORIDHi. 
The Accentors are for the most part dwellers among the 
rocks, but some of them, like our Common Hedge-Sparrow, 
frequent the lower ground, and are amongst our most familiar 
birds in gardens and in the neighbourhood of houses. They 
differ from the Turdida. in having the tarsus scutellated, as in 
the Tits, with which Mr. Seebohm has actually associated them. 
In other characters, however, such as the shape of the bill and 
its rictal bristles, the Accentors are allied to the Robins and 
Redstarts, while the spotted character of the young proves 
their affinity with the family of the Turdidce. The Hedge- 
Accentors differ from most of the latter in having a very rounded 
wing, but this peculiarity is not shared by the Alpine Accentors. 
The family contains the two genera Tharrhaleus and Accentor. 
The former comprises the “ Hedge-Sparrows,” like our English 
