4 66. W A R B L E R .
F emale.
changing to pure white at the v en t: the breaft tinged with red t
the legs black.
T he fem a le has the mark over the eyes rather obfcure; and'
inftead of the black mark under it, a patch of brown: the tail
Place and
Manners*
is not fo deeply marked with white.
This bird vifits E n g la n d annually in the middle of M a r c h , and
leaves us in September. T he fem a le s come firft, about a fortnight
before the m a le s : they keep coming till the middle o f
M a y . In fome parts of E n g la n d are in vaft plenty j and are much,
efteemed. About E a jlb a u r n , in S u ffix , they are taken in fnares
made o f harfe-hair, placed beneath a long tu rf: being very
timid birds, the motion o f a cloud, or the appearance o f an.
Hawk, will drive them for Ihelter into thefe traps, and fo they
are taken. The numbers annually enfnared in that diftrift alone
amounr to about 1,840 dozen, which ufually fell at fix pence
per dozen *. Quantities o f thefe are eaten on the fpot by the
neighbouring inhabitants! others are picked, and lent up to the
L on d on poulterers 3 and many are potted, being as much efteemed
in E n g la n d as the O r to la n on the continent.
Their food is infefts only, though in rainy fummers feed much
on ea r th -w o rm s jy whence they are fatteft in fuch feafons J .
T his fpecies is met with in moft parts o f E u r o p e , even as far
as G r e en la n d ■ , and has alfo been fent to E n g la n d from the E a fk
In d ie s , fpecimens of which. I have feen
* Br . Zool.
f I have feen them follow the plough for the fake of worms.
% Pennant fays, that the reafon why they are fo plenty about Eaftlourn is, be-
caufe a certain fly abounds in the adjacent hills* which feeds on the Wild
y by me.
$ See Edwards's Preface, p. i z. It
It chiefly frequents heaths ; but except in particular fpots, as
before mentioned, one only fees here and there a few fcattered
pairs. T he neft is ufually placed under fhelter of fotne turf,
clod, ftone, or the like, always on the ground, and not unfre-
quently in fome deferted r a b b it -b u r r ow . It is compofed o f dry
'grafs or mofs, mixed with wool, fur o f the rabbit, &c. or lined
with hair and feathers. T he eggs are from five to eight in
number, o f a light blue, with a deeper blue circle at the large
end *. T he young are hatched the middle o f M a y .
Motacilla oenanthe, Lin. Syfl. i. p. 332. N° 15. a. 75.
Le Cul-blanc gris, Brif. orn. iii. p. 452. N° 34. pl. 21. f. 2.—Bvf. cif. v. Var. A . p. 244.
Grey Wheat-Ear, Br. Zoot. App. f
' J 'H I S variety differs in having a mixture o f whitilh and ful- Description.
vous on the upper parts, and very fmall grey fpots on the
lower part of the neck : and the two middle tail feathers wholly
black i the others as in the common IHheal-Ear, and fringed
with pale rufous : bill and legs brown.
* Hiß. des cif.
t I“ Mr. Pennant’s bird, which was (hot near Uxbridge, the upper parts
were tawny: fore part of the neck dull brownilh yellow : from the bill to the
eye an obfcure dulky line: quills and feconclaries black, edged with tawny and
white : tail like the common Wheat-Ear, with pale tawny edges.
i
mi
m
s