Some Interesting 
Soft Bills. 
(117) THE BIRD WORLD. 
and of course the food and water vessels 
should be inside the cage. In addition 
.to the perches the Wheatear will pro¬ 
bably be glad to have a good-sized stone 
to rest on, such as he would be likely 
to choose if he were at liberty. 
Food for Fresh-Caught Birds. 
The wild-caught birds should, at first, 
be given a very liberal supply of live 
insects until they are accustomed to eat¬ 
ing the artificial insectivorous food; and 
here mealworms and house black beetles 
come in very handy when spiders and 
* wild ” insects are scarce. A Wheatear 
may safely be given twenty-five meal¬ 
worms a day at first, but when he is 
thoroughly accustomed to the artificial 
food the number may gradually be re¬ 
duced to five or six. But at all times 
he will be the better for having plenty 
of spiders and live insects of various 
kinds, and these are especially necessary 
if the bird is kept through the moult; 
but be careful that the insects are not 
taken from poisonous plants or shrubs. 
The Order of the Bath. 
Wheatears are not usually great 
bathers, but all birds are more healthy 
for bathing in suitable weather. As 
almost all of these birds migrate to 
warmer countries for the winter (although 
it seems generally admitted that a few 
stragglers remain), Wheatears in cap¬ 
tivity will need to be kept fairly warm in 
winter, and the temperature should not 
be allowed to fall for long below 50 
degrees. The cocks have a gay little 
song, which generally improves in cap¬ 
tivity, and if the bird is suitably fed he 
will sing almost all the year round. 
Both cock and hen have a sharp alarm 
note that sounds like “ Chat,” which 
probably gives rise to their local names 
of “ Clod Chat,” “ Fallow Chat,” etc. 
Wheatears are very likely to injure 
their claws when they are kept in cages. 
This is probably done by catching them 
in the wires, as the claws are very much 
curved. They also get sore feet, and 
therefore the perches should be covered 
with something soft. 
There is a good deal of difference in 
the size of Wheatears, some birds being 
considerably larger than others, though 
similar in colouring, and therefore some 
people think there are two varieties; but 
this seems to be doubtful. The smaller 
birds are about 5^ inches long. 
The Whinchat (Saxicola Rubetra). 
The Whinchat is another interesting 
summer migrant which is common in 
many parts of England, though its 
quieter Golouring does not attract so 
much attention as the more decided 
markings of the Wheatear. And yet it 
is decidedly a pretty bird, the prevailing 
brown of its plumage being relieved by 
distinguishing markings. The cock has 
a white mark passing from the bill over 
the eyes, and a little white on the throat, 
wings, and base of tail; on the cheeks 
there is a black mark, and the breast is 
fawn colour, shading almost to white; 
the back is specially brown, and the 
wings dark brown. The hen is, as 
usual, duller in colouring than the cock, 
and the marks above her eyes are buff 
instead of white; the young birds are 
like her. In winter the cock loses his 
more ornamental markings, and re* 
sembles his wife and children. 
April Visitors. 
Whinchats generally arrive in England 
in April, and leave again in September 
or early in October, when many of them 
go to parts of Africa, or even as far as 
India. In England they frequent com¬ 
mons, meadow land, and railway em¬ 
bankments, where they are very fond of 
perching on the top twigs of hedges, haw¬ 
thorn, or furze bushes. When harvest 
time comes they visit the harvest fields, 
and may be seen sitting or hanging on 
the sheaves, and it is probably from this 
habit that in some parts of the country 
they are called “ Barleyears.” They 
may also be seen sometimes in the 
autumn searching among the roots and 
