1 83 Lloyd's natural history. 



Whitethroat, inasmuch as the Lesser Whitethroat is a more 

 retiring bird, and does not place itself so much in evidence 

 as its ally. It is quite as unobtrusive as the Garden Warbler, 

 and, like that species, frequents the most secluded localities. 

 It arrives in England somewhat later than S. sylvia, and as 

 the foliage is then more advanced, this may be one reason 

 why the Lesser Whitethroat is less noticed than that species. 

 Like the latter it frequents hedgerows and lanes, but is more 

 often seen in the higher trees than the Whitethroat. Its food 

 consists of insects, in pursuit of which it hops from twig to twig, 

 and examines all the leaves, after the fashion of Warblers ; it 

 also varies its diet with fruit, and is said to be especially fond 

 of cherries and red currants, while we can affirm that, like the 

 Whitethroat, it is capable of doing considerable damage among 

 the peas. In the autumn it feeds on berries. The song of the 

 Lesser Whitethroat is described by Mr. Seebohm as " a mono- 

 tonous trill, sometimes like the first notes of the song of the 

 Yellow Bunting, but it is frequently preceded by a few notes, 

 which, though they are not very varied nor very loud, are by no 

 means unmusical, and somewhat resemble the twittering of a 

 Swallow. Its call-note resembles the syllable check several times 

 repeated and sometimes varied with a more guttural cry." Like 

 other Warblers, it utters a harsh grating note when alarmed or 

 disturbed near its nesting-place. 



Nest. — Not so deep as that of the Common Whitethroat, but 

 very similar in construction, though somewhat more coarsely 

 made. The materials are fine grass-stems, and spiders' webs 

 or the cocoons of caterpillars are used to bind it together, while 

 the linings consist of fine rootlets or horsehair. It is sometimes 

 placed in the higher branches of a tall hedgerow or in bushes, 

 but is also to be found in brambles or furze. 



Eggs. — Four to six in number. The ground-colour is china- 

 white, spotted with light brown or greenish-brown, and having 

 very distinct underlying blotches and spots of violet-grey, 

 generally forming a ring near the larger end of the egg. In 

 some instances the darker markings are accompanied by ab- 

 solutely black spots, distributed irregularly over the egg. Axis, 

 0*65-0-75 inch \ diam., 0-5-0-55. 



