Cassell's book of birds; vol. 2Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Science
Cassell's book of birds; vol. 2
Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Birds
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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