54 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 
where it builds its nest nearly every year. Of the allied species 
the Fire-crested Kinglet (egulus ignicapillus), I saw lately a 
very beautiful pair, which were shot on the 10th of October, at 
Shooter’s Hill, Kent, and are now in the collection of Mr. Henry 
Whitely, of Woolwich. 
Sylvia. 
49. Sylvia cinerea. The Greater Whitethroat. 
This bird is common at Cookham in summer, and is always 
found in kitchen-gardens, where it is very destructive to the 
green peas. Its song is harsh, and when delivering it the bird 
often throws itself into the air, after the manner of the Tree- 
Pipit; at other times itis heard singing from the depths of a 
thick bush. The local name of both the Whitethroats near 
Loughborough, and also near Peterborough, is ‘ Hay-chat,’ a 
name which can only have originated, in my opinion, from the 
note of the bird, which often utters such a note, when suddenly 
disturbed, or when its nest is attacked. I often used to find the 
nest, in the above-mentioned localities, situate in a bed of nettles, 
so that any one can guess the slightness of the structure, which 
is supported on such slender stems. The nest was always con- 
structed of dry bents and stalks of grass, and was not very 
artistically arranged. The Whitethroat’s nest is certainly one of 
the slightest built of all the British birds, and one can generally 
see through the bottom ; indeed it used to be a common saying 
when I was at school that the nest was ready for eggs when 
you could see plainly through it. I have lately received a 
Whitethroat from Holland, which is larger than any British 
specimen in my collection. As a rule, birds from this country 
are smaller than British specimens. 
50. Sylvia curruca. The Lesser Whitethroat. 
The Lesser Whitethroat is not so commonly met with any- 
where as the foregoing species, and I have seldom seen it near 
Cookham. I have never taken the nest myself in the neighbour- 
hood, though I have seen some eg3s which were obtained there. 
At Loughborough this pird was by no means uncommon, and 
resembled the larger species in the construction of the nest, and 
in tho situations for placing it; I have even found nests of both 
species in the same bed of nettles. 
