The WJieatear, and Whin Chat 251 
walls of burial-grounds, and though it is a very hand- 
some bird, and in the early season sings sweetly, its 
haunts have obtained it a bad name. The common alarm- 
note resembles the sound made in breaking stones with a 
hammer, and as it utters that note from the top of the 
heap which haply covers the bones of one who perished 
by the storm, or his own hand, popular fancy has not 
unnaturally associated the Wheatear with the supersti- 
tion that belongs to the place of graves. Beneath that 
heap of stones, or in some neighbouring fallow, its nest 
may be discovered, formed of moss and dried grass, lined 
with hair, feathers, or wool, and containing five or six 
eggs of a delicate bluish white. These birds congregate 
on the southern downs about the middle of July ; they 
are then caught in vast numbers, in horse-hair nooses, 
which are set between two pieces of turf turned against 
each other. 
The Whin Chat is a beautiful bird, compact in form, 
with a rich and elegant plumage. Its song, which is 
peculiarly soft and sweet, may be heard in spring on the 
bushy margins and gorse of extensive heaths. Its nest, 
constructed in thick tufts of grass and under bushes, is 
most carefully concealed. It is usually approached by 
a labyrinth to which the rising of the bird affords no clue, 
and it may long be sought in vain, though perhaps not 
more than a yard distant all the time. The eggs are 
bluish green, without any spots, and are never more than 
six in number. 
The following lines, addressed to the English Ortolan, 
or Wheatear, by Mrs. Charlotte Smith, allude to the 
foolish timidity of that bird : 
" To take you, shepherd boys prepare 
The hollow turf, the wiry snare, 
Of those weak terrors well aware, 
That bid you vainly dread 
The shadows floating over downs, 
Or murmuring gale, that round the stones 
Of some old beacon, as it moans, 
Scarce moves a thistle's head. 
And if a cloud obscure the sun, 
With faint and fluttering heart you run 
Into the pitfall you should shun, 
And only leave when dead." 
