. British birds . ntruder, and flies and perches again, and finallydoubles back and returns to the first bpot. Besides the insects hecatches flying, he feeds on small beetles, grubs, worms, &c., foundabout the roots of the grass. He is frequently seen flutteringclose to the surface of the tall grass, picking small insects from theleaves, and is most active in seeking his food during the eveningtwilight. The whinchats low warbling song, which has some resemblanceto that of the redstart, is mostly heard in the love season, andis uttered both from its perch on the summit of a bush or tree,and whe
. British birds . ntruder, and flies and perches again, and finallydoubles back and returns to the first bpot. Besides the insects hecatches flying, he feeds on small beetles, grubs, worms, &c., foundabout the roots of the grass. He is frequently seen flutteringclose to the surface of the tall grass, picking small insects from theleaves, and is most active in seeking his food during the eveningtwilight. The whinchats low warbling song, which has some resemblanceto that of the redstart, is mostly heard in the love season, andis uttered both from its perch on the summit of a bush or tree,and when hovering in the air. The nest is placed on the ground, usually in a cavity under thegrass in a field, not far from a hedgerow, or under a thick furze-bush on commons, or at the roots of the heather on moors. It isformed of dry grass and moss, and lined with horsehair and root-lets. Four to six eggs are laid, greenish blue in colour, faintlymarked with a zone of brown spots at the larger end. b6 BBITISH BIBDS. Fia. 23.— Stonechat. ^ natural size. Stonechat. Pratincola rubicola. Head, throat, bill, andlegs black; sides of necknear the wing, tertialwing-coverts, and rumpwhite ; breast brightchestnut-red, paling towhite on the belly; fea-thers of the back, wings,and tail black with red-dish brown edges. Fe-male : head and upperparts dusky brown, thefeathers edged with yel-lowish red; throat blackwith smaU whitish andreddish spots; less whitein the wings and tail;the red of the breast dull. Length, five and a quarter inches. In his colouring and appearance, and to some extent in habits,the small stonechat is unlike any other bird. His strongly con-trasted tints—black and white, and brown and chestnut-red—makehim as conspicuous to the eye as the goldfinch or yeUowhammer, andthus produce much the same effect as brilliancy of colour. Theeffect is increased by the custom the bird has of always perching onthe topmost spray of a furze-bush on the open commons which itinhabits. Per
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Keywords: ., bookauthorhudsonwh, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1921
