56 Birds I Have Kept. 



and in the autumn will eat frnit, being particularly fond of 

 cherries and peaches, occasionally devouring, at one sitting, a 

 small-sized specimen of the latter fruit to the stone. 



This bird is about the same size as the Blackcap, if anything 

 a trifle smaller; the upper part of its body is reddish grey, 

 shaded with brownish olive; the under parts are light grey, 

 and the belly white. The female differs from the male in 

 being, generally, of a lighter colour. It is found all over 

 Europe, and is essentially a garden bird. The nest is usually 

 placed rather higher up in the bush it has selected for its 

 abode than is that of its relation the Blackcap, and is built of 

 grass stems, but very slenderly, and lined with hair. I remember 

 once seeing one that was begun in the morning with an egg 

 in it at night; said egg being quite visible from below through 

 the flimsy structure in which it was placed. 



The young are even more timid than those of the preceding 

 species, and jump out of their nest the moment any one ap- 

 proaches it, long before they are fledged. The eggs are four 

 or five in number, spotted with grey and brown on a white 

 ground, but are not nearly as dark as those of the Blackcap, 

 which they resemble in shape. 



The Whitethroat is a very pretty and active bird, very 

 lively, and singing incessantly, sometimes on the wing, some- 

 times when perched on the topmost bough of the bush in which 

 its mate is sitting patiently upon her eggs. Its song is one 

 of the first that is heard in the morning, and the last at 

 night; however, it is not so sustained as that of the Blackcap, 

 nor perhaps so sweet, as some harsh notes are invariably 

 introduced, not unlike the hoarse purring of a cat that is 

 labouring under a cold and sore throat. 



As might be guessed from its exploits in the matter of 

 peaches, the "Whitethroat is a great eater, and in confinement, 

 as often as not, dies from gorging itself: not that I ever got 

 even to that stage of keeping, for I only tried to rear the 

 nestlings, and failed in that, as I have said. However such 



