THE BLUE-THROATED WARBLER 77 



observing birds find it difficult to see it at all, as 

 with a series of running hops it darts under the 

 shade of overhanging bush or shrub. In the 

 winter months it hardly utters more than a simple 

 call-note, but as spring approaches it breaks into 

 song, and at the end of March I have several times 

 heard it singing most enchantingly. It seems to 

 sing when on the ground, and not when perched 

 amongst the bushy undergrowth ; and I remember 

 watching one, singing as lustily as any nightingale, 

 as it stood on a bare bit of stony, sandy soil, 

 bordering a little pool, fully exposed to view, 

 while I sat quietly not three yards away. 



