In Cornwall and Devon they reappear again at the end of February, and working their way northwards through Wales, commence to nest early in April, as soon as spring has made itself felt on the hills. A few may spend the winter in our most south-western counties, and it is probable that our home-bred birds travel entirely by a western route, and that the birds met with in the east and southeast of the country are all foreign bred, for till the end of April birds are found still pursuing their northward journey to lands beyond ours.
The general colour of the upper parts is brownish black, with lighter margins to the wing coverts. Under parts brownish black with broad white crescentic gorget. The female is lighter, and has a narrow gorget. In autumn both sexes have the feathers margined with grey. Length 10 in.; wing 5·5 in.
THE ROCK THRUSH
Monticola saxatilis (Linnæus)
The Rock Thrush is an Eastern species that breeds sparingly from Central Europe eastwards through Southern Siberia and North China, and southwards in Greece, the Balkans, Asia Minor, and Persia. It has only once been obtained in our islands, namely in Hertfordshire in 1843.
The male is greyish blue on the head, neck, and mantle; white on the rump, tail and under parts bright chestnut. The female is speckled brown above, chin and throat whitish, breast and under parts buff mottled with brown. Length 7·5 in.; wing 4·75 in.
THE WHEATEAR
Saxicola œnanthe (Linnæus)
WHEATEAR
Saxicola œnanthe
Adult male (right). Female (centre). Young in autumn (left)
Before the March winds have subsided, and while the trees and all vegetation are still in their winter sleep, the first of the Wheatears appears in the south-west of England. A lively and sprightly little chap is he, as he sits on a tussock of grass or on a fence, jerking his tail, or darting with a quick sharp flight to some other elevation, showing, as he does so, his conspicuous white rump, while his dark wing feathers and tail and grey back prevent the passer-by from mistaking him for any other species. He is a bird of the open, preferring large sandy stretches or wide moorlands, and it is only during migration that he affects woodlands and the more cultivated districts. As a rule the male birds are the first to arrive, being followed in about a week or ten days by the hens and less vigorous males. Having chosen his mate, about the first or second week in April, he will begin to look for a nesting-site, generally a little way down a rabbit-burrow, or in moorland districts a hole or crevice of a rock or stone wall will be chosen, but wherever placed it will be secure from observation. The nest is loosely built of grass, moss, rabbit fleck, fur, and feathers, or any material that comes handy, and having laid six or seven eggs of a uniform pale-blue colour the hen commences her business of incubation, in which the cock takes no part. He is, however, in constant attendance in the vicinity of the nest, frequently uttering his apology for a song, which consists merely of a few notes carelessly strung together, singing apparently rather from exuberance of spirits than because he really appreciates music, for often, as a spider or other insect comes within his range of vision, he will suddenly break off his song, seize the tempting morsel, and fly up again with his sharp “chack, chack.” The nest is somewhat difficult to find, and as a rule can only be discovered by watching the hen bird, who may be recognised by her browner tints; if, however, she suspects you of watching her, she will refuse to return for some considerable time. If you allow your attention to be diverted, she will seize the opportunity to dart home, and your trouble will have been in vain. With the wants, however, of six children to attend to, she will betray less caution; both parents then look after the young, and they may be watched with comparative ease, as, having secured a luscious beakful of insects, spiders especially being a great delicacy, they hop or dart with their peculiar sharp flight from point to point, till finally they are gone, and on approaching the spot where they vanished, you will suddenly see them reappear from some hole or cranny.
The young leave the nest as soon as they are able to hop and flutter, and are then jealously guarded by their parents, who fly round in great excitement if you approach too near. They are soon well on the wing, however, and the old birds are free to burden themselves with another family. During the early part of May, a large variety of the Wheatear may sometimes be seen, most frequently along the sea-shore; these are birds whose home is in the Far North, and which regularly pass through these islands at this time. They are larger and finer birds which have wintered in Africa and have remained on in Southern climes, refusing to be lured away when their English brethren left, but, judging their time as accurately as though possessed of the most reliable of calendars, they leave their tropical winter home when spring in temperate regions has well advanced. Not to be tempted by the attractions our country can offer in its most delightful month, they pursue their journey with restless energy to the apparently inhospitable shores of Greenland. These wanderers, however, do not concern us much; they are gone, and our summer residents are busy with their second brood, and when this is hatched, young and old spend the rest of the warm weather in their home; renewing their plumage, and preparing themselves for the shortening days of autumn, when they pass away to the sunny shores of the Mediterranean and to North Africa, though a few stragglers may possibly be found during the winter in some warm and sheltered nook of Cornwall or Devon. They have gone—October has brought the cold weather, trees are rapidly becoming bare—we go out one morning and find to our surprise that apparently our summer friend has returned; by the next morning he is gone again, and we realise that these passing birds had only stopped to rest before undertaking another night stage on their long journey from the Arctic.