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WHINCHAT . — Pratmcola rubetra . STONECHAT . — Pratincola rubicola. 
The Whinchat is tolerably common in England, and may be found among 
furze and stony ground. It is a prettily marked bird, mottled above with brown 
and white, and fawn below. 
Like the wheatear, the Whinchat becomes extremely fat in the autumn, and as 
it is prized as a delicacy for the table, is rather persecuted by the game-dealers 
and their assistants. The food of this bird is the same as that of the stonechat. 
The Whinchat arrives in this country about the middle or towards the end of 
April, according to the locality and the weather. It builds its nest soon after its 
arrival, and hatches its young about the end of May or the beginning of June. 
The nest is placed on the ground, is made after the fashion of the stonechat’s 
habitation, and contains from four to six bluish-green eggs, slightly speckled with 
reddish-brown. 
The Stonechat is one of the birds that remain in England throughout the 
year, being seen during the winter months among the furze-covered commons 
which are now rapidly becoming extinct. 
The name of Chat is earned by the bird in consequence of its extreme volu- 
bility, for it is one of the noisiest birds in existence. Its song is low and sweet, 
and may be heard to great advantage, as the bird is not at all shy, and, trusting 
to its powers of concealment, sings merrily until the spectator has approached 
within a short distance, and then, dropping among the furze, glides quickly 
through the prickly maze, and rises at some distance ready to renew its little song. 
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