The EARED STONE CHAT (_Saxicola aurita_) and the BLACK-THROATED STONE
CHAT (_Saxicola stapazina_). The first of these is six inches long, and
ten inches and a half broad; the wing measures three inches and a third,
and the tail two inches and a half. The plumage on the upper part of the
body is whitish grey; that of the under side greyish reddish white; a
narrow line that passes from the beak to the eyes, an oval patch on the
cheek, the wings, central tail-feathers, and the tips of those at the
exterior are black; the colours in the plumage of the female are paler
and redder than those of her mate. The Black-throated Stone Chat is
rust-red on the upper portions of the body, breast, and belly; the throat
and wings are black, the feathers of the single wing-covers edged with
rust-red; the exterior tail-feathers are white, tipped with black, and
those in the centre entirely black. The young of both species are greyish
yellow on the head, nape, and back, every feather being lightly edged
with grey at the tip, and streaked with white on the shaft. The under
side is dirty white, with a greyish shade upon the breast; the quills
and tail-feathers are pale black; the feathers of the wing-covers are
bordered with yellowish white.
Though they by no means avoid fruitful tracts or cultivated districts,
these birds very decidedly prefer to take up their abode in mountains
or stony regions, and are for this reason particularly numerous in
Sweden, Southern Germany, and Switzerland; in the latter country they are
popularly known as Mountain Nightingales, from the height to which they
often ascend. Even the icy and rugged tracts of Scandinavia and Lapland
seem to suit their requirements; and we have often seen them hopping
nimbly over the glaciers, in situations where no other living object
was discernible. Individuals inhabiting more southern latitudes display
the same liking for barren ground, and are usually seen in localities
so sterile and arid as to appear totally incapable of affording them
a sufficient supply of the insects upon which they subsist. Their
disposition is lively, restless, vigilant, and very unsocial; only during
their winter migrations do they commingle with others of their species.
Even when circumstances compel a certain amount of neighbourship, each
bird lives for itself, without appearing to take the slightest interest
in the proceedings of others in the vicinity.
The flight of the Stone Chat is remarkable, owing to the fact that,
at whatever height the perch may be from which it starts, the bird
invariably sinks towards the ground, close to the surface of which it
always flies, in a series of short, undulating lines. At the approach
of the breeding season this mode of flight is changed, and the bird
then entertains itself and its mate by repeatedly soaring into the air
to a height of some twenty or thirty feet, singing as it goes, and then
descending precipitately, to end its joyous song upon its favourite
perch. When standing upon a stone or rock, it holds its body erect,
shakes its tail, and, should anything unusual catch its eye, at once
commences bowing repeatedly. This strange habit has given rise to
its Spanish name of the "Sacristan," in allusion to the genuflexions
practised by the monks. The voices of all the species we have described
are loud and peculiar, but by no means pleasing. Of their performance,
however, it may be said that what is wanting in quality is made up by the
energy and persistency with which their song is poured out, not only from
daybreak to sunset, but long after night has closed in. The nest, which
is for the most part built in holes and fissures of rocks and stones,
or occasionally in hollow trees, is carefully concealed from view. Its
dense roughly-made exterior is formed of fibres, grass, and stalks,
lined thickly and warmly with wool, hair, or feathers; the eggs, from
five to seven in number, are of a delicate blueish or greenish white,
occasionally, but rarely, spotted with pale yellow. The female hatches
her brood with but little assistance from her mate, who perches near, in
order to keep a strict watch against the approach of danger, and warns
her of its appearance by an anxious cry. But one brood is produced in the
season, the first eggs being laid about May; occasionally, however, the
female produces two broods. The young remain with the parents till the
winter migration, which takes place in September. In March they again
return to their native lands.
* * * * *
The RUNNING WARBLERS (_Dromolæa_) constitute another group of this
family, recognisable by the predominance of black in the coloration of
their plumage, and by the formation of their comparatively long and much
compressed beak, which is broad at its base, and very decidedly curved
and hooked at its extremity. The wings are long and pointed.