MISADVENTURES OF BIRD-WATCHING 65 



stung by nettles and torn by thorns, and yet all my 

 efforts and inconvenience was in vain. I listened 

 intently, hoping to hear some harsh little note 

 which would direct the search, but, warned by the 

 persistent " checking " of the adult whitethroat, 

 the fledglings remained quiet and motioiiless. 



Most of the warblers, even those which build 

 on the ground, are so overcome with inquisitive- 

 ness that they appear in sight directly their 

 haunts are invaded. The exception to the rule 

 is perhaps the grasshopper- warbler, which creeps 

 through the thickets like a mouse, and is rarely 

 seen. Unlike full-fledged birds, nestlings pass 

 the greater pait of the day in sleep, but they 

 awake when food is brought to them. Once, 

 before photographing a nestful of willow- warblers, 

 I waited till, impatient at the absence of their 

 parents, the little birds began to show un- 

 mistakable signs of hunger. Wide-open eyes 

 and beaks, and six tiny heads in two rows at the 

 entrance to the feather-lined snuggery — I con- 

 gratulated myself on fche prospect of a pretty 

 picture. But while the plate was being exposed, 

 the tired little heads gradually sank into an 

 attitude of repose, and the little beaks and eyes 

 were shut. A meaningless blur was ultimately 

 all that marked the centre of the developed 

 negative, though every twig and leaf around 

 was perfectly distinct. 



