WHITE-BREASTED WARBLER. 359 



nest is sometimes in a hedge, but more frequently among long 

 dry grass, by the side of a wood, four or five inches from the 

 ground, and generally overshadowed by a twig of bramble or 

 some other shrub. The nest is more compact than that of the 

 larger White-throat, which, in addition to its numerous names, 

 is here called ' Beardy,' and ' Blethering Tam." The song 

 of the Sylviella is sweeter and more perfect than that of the 

 common sort, and its eggs are also very different." 



It frequents gardens, hedges, and thickets, searching for food 

 among the branches, and is extremely active, petulant, and at 

 the same time shy and wary, although in avoiding intruders 

 upon its haunts it does not generally fly to a distance, but con- 

 ceals itself among the foliage. Its food consists of insects, 

 larvae, and small fruits, especially currants. Its song is a short, 

 not unpleasant warble, not so loud as that of the White-throat, 

 nor performed on wing, but shriller and less melodious. 



It begins to form its nest about three weeks after its arrival, 

 usually placing it among briars or brambles, or in the lower 

 part of a hedge, or among the herbage on a fence-bank, or the 

 side of a ditch. It is composed of stems and leaves of slender 

 grasses, rather loosely interwoven, with a lining of finer straws, 

 fibrous roots, and hair. The eggs are five, eight-twelfths in 

 length, six-twelfths in breadth, white or greyish-white, marked 

 with spots and small patches of light grey and brown, more 

 numerous toward the larger end. 



Mr Hepburn, who was the first to discover this species in 

 East Lothian, has furnished me with the following notice re- 

 specting it. " On the 7th of May 1838, I first heard the song of 

 the Lesser White-throat, Sylvia Curruca. In its habits it is shy 

 and retiring ; it loves to frequent copses and gardens. When 

 you approach its haunts, it conceals itself in the thickest shade, 

 where it utters its alarm note, distending its throat a little. 

 One day in July, when lying in wait for Wood Pigeons in a 

 ditch beneath the shade of some hedge-row trees, I observed 

 one sporting amongst the hawthorn twigs. He once sprung 

 into the air, caught an insect, and then began to sing in a very 

 low voice, ending in a very shrill tremulous cry. House Spar- 

 rows, Hedge Chanters, Chaffinches, Wagtails, Willow Wrens, 



