THE DUSKY CHAT. 
698 
enemy, seen by the watchful parents, has either passed 
over or hid himself; there is, apparently, no further 
danger, and all is as gay again as ever. Father and 
mother continue their chase after insects, and rarely fail 
to capture the prey they have once set eyes upon. Look! 
the father has just caught a butterfly in full view of the 
whole tribe of youngsters; and now each member strives 
to be the first to bag the morsel. There they go ! never 
was there such running, scrambling, piping, and begging ; 
even the half-fledged wings are used to the utmost: right 
you are, that black little male, who has all along been 
first in the race, wins the prize. When, lo ! the head of 
the enemy is again seen to peer up from behind a rock: 
one call from the father, and not a youngster is to be 
seen! 
In this way the little band remain under the tender 
care and protection of the parent birds until the moulting 
season is past, and then they all separate, for each one 
has found a partner. The moult takes place in July, 
August, and September; by the end of October or the 
beginning of November all have paired, and the family is 
broken up, though they will still keep in company with 
other pairs. In January they have already begun to sing 
a good deal, and by February they are in full song. The 
strain is wonderfully like that of the Blue Thrush, and 
might be mistaken for it, but that it is not so loud or 
ringing, and ends with a peculiar rattle, like that of our 
Black Beds tart. 
The name of the Dusky Ghat ought not to be omitted 
from the list of the characteristic birds of Spain. This 
bird is peculiar to the South, and belongs as much to its 
mountains as do the stones and rocks which form them. 
As before remarked, it prefers dark to light stones, and 
