90 
M O T A C I L L A. 
a third in the middle of the wing; the outer tail-feathers 
are edged with rufous white on the outer web; legs fer¬ 
ruginous. Inhabits the Philippine Ifles. 
90. Motacilla Coromnndelica, the Coromandel warbler: 
fize of the titmoufe: bill black; irides rufous yellow'; head, 
■neck, breaft, and fmaller wing-coverts, black; on each 
feather is a yellow'ilh fpot; the reft of the coverts edged 
with yellow, and on the midfile of them a fpot of white ; 
quills and tail black; rump pale rufous; belly the fame, 
crofted with irregular black bands ; legs black. Inhabits 
the coaft of Coromandel. 
91. Motacilla perfpicillata, the fpettacle warbler: fize 
of a goldfinch; and of a fine black-colour, except the 
wing-coverts, on which is a fpot of white. In fome birds 
the under tail-coverts are alio white; but what charac- 
terifes this fpecies, is a naked yellow'ilh wrinkled lkin, 
which encircles the eye all round, giving the appearance 
of wearing fpefilacle.s ; the irides are yellow, and the pu¬ 
pil blue; the tail is even at the end, but, when fpread, 
forms an almcft equilateral triangle. Inhabits the neigh¬ 
bourhood of the river Plata, in South America : efpecially 
about Montevideo. 
92. Motacilla rubicola, the ftonechat, or moor-titling 1 
length more than four inches and three quarters : bill 
black ; upper parts of the body mixed blackilh and pale 
rufous; the feathers margined with ruft-colour, but the 
head, neck, and throat, are nearly black; on each fide 
the neck a tranlverfe ftreak of white ; breaft reddilh yel¬ 
low ; belly paler ; vent white ; the edges and ends of the 
two outer tail-feathers pale ferruginous; the reft black ; 
quills dulky, with ferruginous margins ; thofe next the 
body marked with a white fpot near the bottoms; and 
on the wing-coverts is another of the fame ; legs black. 
The female has colours much lefs vivid ; top of the head 
like the upper parts, and not black ; the fides and throat 
paleft : the white on the fides of the neck not fo confpi- 
cuous, and the breaft.and belly much paler; the white 
fpot on the wings the fame. This birds inhabits the 
heaths and commons in England, living on infefts of all 
kinds. It makes its neft early, at the foot of fome low 
bulh, or under a hollow' ftone. The eggs are five or fix 
in number, of a bluilh green, fparingly marked with, 
faint rufous fpots. It is lo very crafty as not to betray 
the place of the neft ; never alighting but at fome dis¬ 
tance, and creeping on the ground to it by the greatefl: 
Health ; fo that the neft is only found by the meereft. 
chance. It is a reftlefs bird, incefiantly flying from bulh 
to bulh. With us it is not migratory; but is oftener feen 
in the moifter places in winter, when the food becomes 
fcarce in the dry. It has never been remarked as having 
any fong. It has a cry exactly imitating the clicking of 
of two ftones together, one being held in each hand; 
which will eafily account for its being called the Jlonechat, 
or Jlone-chatter. 
93. Motacilla pallor, the African ftonechat. This fo 
much refembles the ftonechat of Europe, that perhaps it 
may be only a variety formed by the difference of climate ; 
and whatever Button has related of the habits of that fpe-, 
cies may be applied to this, which is very common about 
the Cape of Good Hope, along the! whole eaftern coaft, 
and in the interior country, chiefly in burnt-up unculti¬ 
vated places. It does not frequent trees, or at leaft only 
the loweft branches, or a withered trunk ; it generally 
prefers the loweft tufts, or even a Angle Hem ; for though 
it inhabits the Auteniquois country, which contains valt 
forefts, it is feldom found in the woods. It is not a .bird 
of paffage, but conftantly remains in that part of Africa 
we are Ipeaking of. The male and female are generally 
feen together; they are fond of perching fide by fide on 
a heath-plant or on any tingle ftaik, fo that it is ealy to 
kill both together, efpecially as they are not fhy ; when 
they fly off feparately, they only Ikim along the ground 
till they meet again on the next low perch they find in 
their w’ay ; they wag their tail, flap their wings, and are 
always in afilion. When near inherited fpots, they fre¬ 
quent the inclofures of cattle, where they find abundant 
nourifhment. They are molt frequent in Swartland and 
in the barren plains about the Cape. They hide their 
neft with the greateft care under a mole-hill at the foot of 
a Ihrub, or in a hole in a rock, or even under a heap of 
ftones. The laying is five eggs, fpotted with light brown ; 
the male and female fit by turns. 
The male is of the fize and appearance of our ftonechat. 
The head and throat are very dark brown, almoft black ; 
at the fides of the neck is a broad wdiite patch, which be¬ 
comes narrower towards the hind-head; and another 
white fpot on the middle of the wing. The upper and 
under tail-coverts and belly are white ; the mantle and 
fcapulars black brown; the breaft dark red, lighter on the 
flanks. The,bill and legs are black. The female is fome- 
W'hat lefs, and differs totally in colours; for whatever in 
the male is nearly black is in her light brown ; Ihe has no 
white but on the wings, tail, and belly ; at a certain age a 
few w'hite feathers appear on the part where the male has 
a complete white collar; her bill and feet are brown. The 
young birds are almoft entirely of a light brown, having 
fome white only on the belly, on the middle of the wing, 
and at the laft quill on each fide of the tail. The defcrip- 
tion given by Button of his motteux verclatre, our M. au- 
rantia, (fp. 76. p. 88.) agrees very well with the female of 
this, except that the length of fix inches is rather exagge¬ 
rated. The fettlers, being accuftomed to fee this fpecies 
among their cattle, in the inclofures, where they find 
plenty of the worms 1 they are fo fond of, call it jchaap- 
wagtertje, which fignifies “ little lhepherd.” Vaillant 
therefore calls it traquct patre; and it is reprefented (from 
his work) on the annexed Plate IV. fig. 1. 
94. Motacilla atricapilla, the black-cap: length five 
inches and a quarter : bill brown; the top of the head 
black ; upper parts of the body greenifh afh-colour ; fides 
of the head, and under parts, grey, changing to very light 
grey, or almoft white, towards the vent; the quills and 
tail cinereous brown, margined with the fame colour as 
the upper parts ; the tail has the two middle feathers the 
fliorteft; legs lead-colour. The female differs from the 
male only in having the head of a ferruginous chefnut- 
colour inftead of black. 
This bird is frequent in England, and other parts of 
Europe, as far as Italy; in all which places it is known 
to breed ; coming in fpring, and retiring in September. 
With us it makes but one neft in the year, which is gene¬ 
rally placed in. fome low bulh, not far from the ground. 
It is compofed of dried ftalks, mixed with a little wool 
and green mofs round the verge: the infide lined with 
the fibres of roots, thinly covered with black horfe-hair. 
The eggs are five in number: of a pale reddilh brown, 
mottled with a deeper colour, and fprinkled with a few 
dark fpots. The male takes turn with the female during 
incubation ; and the young very early leap out of the 
neft, efpecially if any one approaches it, and forfake it 
for ever after. Their food is not confined to infefts ; as, 
in defefil of them, they will eat the fruits of lpurge-laurel, 
fervice, and ivy. They feem to be very fond of the laft, 
as they much frequent fuch treSs as are overgrown with 
it; and the berries of ivy are found in their llomach, at 
times when there is plenty of infefils of all kinds. Their 
fong is much efteemed, and in many things almoft like 
the nightingale. “ The black-cap,”, lays Mr. White, in 
his Kiftory of Selborne, “ has a full, fweet, deep, loud, 
and wild, pipe ; yet that drain is of lhort continuance, 
and his motions are defultory; but, when he fits calmly 
and engages in fong in earned, he pours forth very fweet, 
but inward, melody, and exprefles great variety of foft 
and gentle modulations, fuperior perhaps to thofe of any 
of our warblers, the nightingale excepted. Black-caps 
moftly haunt our orchards and gardens : while they war¬ 
ble, their throats are wonderfully diftended.” In Nor¬ 
folk, they are called the mock-nightingale. 
Of this there are three other varieties :— 13 . Differs front 
the preceding, in being wholly variegated with white and 
black 
