Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/228

202 It is very seldom that Wheatears perch on trees, but I have seen them do so, and they have not avoided the higher branches. The male bird sings very prettily, and it has often been my good fortune to hear it in the rock-strewn mountains of North Wales. The song consists of four or five rich, clear, mellow notes succeeded by an equal number of trilling ones, which might easily be mistaken for some of the tremulous strains of the Whinchat, though they are more musical and less harsh. It sings when stationary as well as in the air, and a pretty sight it is to watch it quit its perch on a rock, mount into the air after the manner of the Whitethroat, twist and jerk about, singing all the while, and then descend to its original starting point. It frequently runs two or three steps before taking wing, and when apprehensive of danger it repeats again and again what sounds in my ears like trz-wee, wee, trz-wee, wee. The bird is not uncommon on the mountainous tracts of rocky moorland in North Wales, as I have already intimated, and a favourite place for its nest, according to my observations, is in a stone wall, though I have also met with nests in rabbit-burrows, as well as in the cavities beneath great boulders of rock. I found the species especially abundant on Lundy Island in the spring of 1897. I am always glad to get a chance of hearing a song which has been much vaunted by authors, though few birds are so speedily on the alert as Wheatears when they mark the approach of an intruder. The male bird, perched conspicuously on some rock or wall, is almost certain to catch the eye first, but probably, long before you have seen it, it has seen you, and telegraphed a warning note to its mate. It will fly about from boulder to boulder, out of sight one moment and reappearing the next; but do not be misled by an apparent indifference to your presence. Though you may note it dart forth and catch an insect, it is all the while vigilant and suspicious to a degree, and though you may crouch in the bracken and keep watch for an hour, it has not forgotten, nor will you entrap it into overlooking, your presence; while as to betraying the whereabouts of the nest, depend upon it, it will be pure guesswork if you find it. It is a vivacious little bird to watch, and seems to have a high opinion of its own superior intelligence; while the rapid up-and-down movements of the tail, which appears to be ever in motion, is a habit which we are more apt to associate with members of the Wagtail family.