LESSER WHITETHROAT. 411 



hedges, shrubberies, orchards and gardens, and is occasion- 

 ally to be seen and heard in lofty trees, but is seldom or 

 never found in large woods. The louder notes of this bird, 

 which want the harshness characterizing those of the Greater 

 Whitethroat, have nothing particular in their tone to recom- 

 mend them ; but the song may still be termed pleasing, and 

 its many breaks being linked, as it were, together by the 

 frequent repetition of notes, which have been syllabled as 

 " sip " '• sip" " sip '', is almost incessant, especially if the 

 weather be sultiy ; and it is to be observed that the Lesser 

 Whitethroat continues its song much later in summer than 

 any of its congeners. 



The food of this species is very similar to that of the 

 Greater Whitethroat — namely, insects in their various stages, 

 and especially Aphides, the smaller fruits, for which it visits 

 gardens, and later in the season it feeds on the berries of 

 the elder and some others. It is hard to keep this bird for 

 any length of time in confinement, though it may be easily 

 reared from the nest. 



The' nest is frequently placed among brambles or low 

 bushes : it is shghtly but firmly built, generally formed on 

 the outside of strong bents or stalks of umbelliferous plants, 

 and lined ^\'ith finer bents, fibrous roots and horsehair. The 

 eggs, four or five in number, measure from '69 to '61 by 

 from '5'2 to '46 in. They are white, boldly blotched, spotted 

 and speckled, principally at the larger end, with deep olive- 

 brown, under which are often patches of pale grey, and 

 above irregular lines of dark brown. Incubation begins early 

 in May. 



The Lesser Whitethroat is by no means an uncommon 

 bii'd in many parts of Great Britain, but is observed to be 

 much more plentiful in some seasons than in others. Like 

 many more of our summer-visitants its numbers decrease 

 towards the west, and it holds a very doubtful place in the 

 Ii-ish fauna. Mr. More states that it does not breed in Corn- 

 wall or Devon, and he can find no authority for saying that 

 it does so in Wales, Cheshire or Lancashire, but in all other 

 English counties it breeds regularly. In Scotland, accord- 



