A Country Diary: MACHYNLLETH: For me a frequent delight in many years of hill-walking in Wales has been to come upon that lively, eye-catching bird the wheatear which so loves to play hide and seek among the rocks.
But I have seldom got very close to these quick, nervous birds.
From a distance I have managed to see something of their spectacular courtship frolics that take place both on the ground and in the air, and I have listened to their songs which, though not rich in melody, seem just right for a world of cliffs and screes.
But with such a wide-awake bird as the wheatear you will discover very little else about its private life unless you really get down to the job.
And 40 years ago that is just what Peter Conder, soon to be assisted by his wife, Pat, set out to do.
He has been gathering his facts on and off ever since and now they are available to us all in his book The Wheatear, a truly classic study of every aspect of the wheatear's lifestyle.
It seems fair to claim this attractive book as a product of Wales because although the author lives in eastern England and has observed wheatears in many far-flung places, the foundation studies were made on the Pembrokeshire island of Skokholm and Peter Conder has often returned there to keep fresh the memory of his pioneering researches.
Thorough in all its countless details his book is well written and easy to read, its charm further enhanced by many true to life sketches made in the field by John Busby.
The publisher is Christopher Helm, the price 19.95.
WILLIAM CONDRY
