FASCICULA 145 



of a turtle-dove; though compacted in the cup with scraps 

 of moss and a few lichens. One could see daylight 

 through it anywhere. 



Lesser Whitethroat {Sylvia currucd). 



To the same observant lady, I am indebted for the 

 following note on another species, the Lesser White- 

 throat, which also is here, for the first time within my 

 knowledge, recorded as nesting in Northumberland. 



Miss Taylor writes: — "In 1899 a pair nested at 

 Chipchase in a low thick thorn, one of several similar 

 bushes growing together, 30 yards from a burn. This 

 nest was about 2 feet from the ground, and the female 

 commenced sitting on five eggs in the second week of 

 June. 



"The following year (1900) the nest was in a similar 

 situation, in a very thick thorn, about 10 yards distant 

 from the old site, and 3 feet from the ground. There 

 were four eggs when I left home in the middle of June. 

 No lesser whitethroats have been seen at Chipchase 

 since then." 



The only two instances of the nesting of the lesser 

 whitethroat that have come under my observation, both 

 occurred in the county of Durham. 



The eggs of the common whitethroat {Sylvia cinerea) 

 are subject to an aberrant type (rare, yet persistent), 

 which varieties may be mistaken for eggs of the lesser 

 species. One such nest I found here on June 8th, 1903 ; 

 and the following year, on May 27th, a similar clutch 

 was discovered, near the same spot, by Mr Selous. On 

 the latter occasion, doubts were resolved by securing the 

 female. These aberrant eggs, however, differ from those 



K 



