The Whitethroat 



throats beG^in to arrive, and from then to the end of the 

 month populate our hedgerows in ever-increasing numbers. 

 When he first comes he may be seen sitting on some out- 

 standing twig or on the telegraph wires that border the 

 road, trilling forth his short but pleasing song, which, like 

 that of most warblers, is a mere medley of notes put 

 together without any apparent order or meaning, though to 

 our little brown friend himself it is doubtless pleasing, and 

 it is indicative of the vigour and energy he feels with the 

 prospect of the return of summer. Anon he will drop from 

 his perch into the hedge, throwing up his tail as he does so, 

 rather after the manner of a Blackbird, and will rapidly 

 wend his way by means of short leaps from twig to twig, 

 giving him apparently a creeping motion, whence his local 

 name of " Nettle-creeper." 



On the arrival of his mate a few days after himself, 

 they set up housekeeping with little or no delay. The nest 

 is a very delicate structure built low down in some bush, 

 or in a clump of nettles on the outside of the hedge, it is 

 composed of grass and bents lightly but strongly interwoven 

 and lined with a few horsehairs, and though looking very 

 fragile and thin, it serves its purpose well. The eggs, four 

 to six in number, are of a yellowish-olive colour blotched 

 and spotted, especially near the larger end, with purplish 

 blue. The hen alone sits, while her mate warbles his song 

 to relieve her tedium, or searches for insects and flies, which 

 he continually brings her. The young are hatched in about 

 eleven days, and in another fortnight are hopping about 

 accompanied by their parents, who still tend them for a 

 short time, till the cares of another family engross their 



41 6 



