CHATS. 
481 
Black Chat. 
The black chat (S. leucura ) inhabits the rocky districts of Spain, 
Italy, and North-West Africa, being replaced in India by a closely- 
allied species. Partially resident in its breeding-grounds, it is only a summer 
migrant to many districts; and it is essentially a bird of desolate mountains, which 
it enlivens with its lively, active figure. Preferring the wildest and most rugged 
situations, it is a shy, cautious bird, avoiding the haunts of men; and as, even when 
wounded, it generally manages to creep into some deep fissure to die, it is difficult 
to secure. Brehm states that the male black chat often “ either dances about on a 
precipice or a stone, or runs up the precipice, spreading its tail and wings like a 
blackcock, nods its head, turns sharp round, rises singing into the air like a tree- 
pipit, and then gradually sinks with outspread wings to the ground, where it 
finishes the last strophes of its song in the neighbourhood of the female bird, which 
quite silently watches the antics of her mate. In all its comical postures it knows 
how to show its beautiful white tail to the best advantage. If there are any trees 
or prickly-pear bushes in the mountains, it will also repose on them during the 
intervals of its dance and song; otherwise it selects the most prominent positions 
for its resting-places.” The black chat builds about the middle or end of April, 
placing its nest in some hole or fissure of the rock, frequently in a precipitous 
situation. The nest is large, loosely constructed of dry stalks of grass, and the finer 
stems of various wild plants, and lined with soft fibres and hair. The eggs are pale 
light blue, with a zone of pale reddish spots around the larger end. The song of 
the black chat is wild and sweet, and has been compared, when heard in autumn, 
to that of the blue thrush, although it is not so loud and clear, and generally 
concludes with a peculiar churring sound, resembling that of the black redstart. 
The adult male in the breeding-season has the entire plumage of the upper and 
lower parts of the body sooty black, with the exception of the rump and upper 
tail-coverts, which are pure white. The two central tail-feathers are black, and 
the remainder white, broadly tipped with black; while the under tail-coverts are 
pure white. The female is a duller bird than her mate, being blackish brown 
instead of sooty black. 
The whinchat ( S. rubetra) 1 winters in Africa, extending its range 
farther north than the stonechat in the breeding-season. Passing 
through Spain in the month of April, it makes its way to the Arctic Circle by the 
end of May; one of the principal routes by which its spring journey is accom¬ 
plished lying along the valley of the Rhine, where the species is extremely 
abundant. The whinchat loves the neighbourhood of grass-meadows, from which 
the song of the male may often be heard resounding, while his mate is engaged in 
the duties of incubation. The call-note of the species is loud and monotonous, 
representing the word “ utick.” The nest, usually placed upon the ground and 
adroitly concealed, contains eggs of a bluish green colour, often spotted with fine 
specks of reddish brown. When the young are fledged, they live in a family-party 
with the old birds, which exhibit the greatest anxiety over the safety of their 
progeny. Subsisting upon insects, and especially beetles, the whinchat is very 
partial to warm, sunny situations, especially if they are well bushed and command 
1 By many ornithologists the whinchat and its allies are separated as a distinct genus, Pratincola, on account 
of their broader beak and more numerous rictal bristles. 
Whinchat. 
