68 OUR BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 
of the wood, where we first met the Nightingale, a shy, 
restless little bird is seen passing along the hedgerow, 
hopping quickly from branch to branch, and usually con- 
triving to keep one or more of the stoutest between the 
observer and himself. This is the Blackcap—in his way 
as wonderful a musician as the Nightingale, and one which 
did he but sing at night, would run the latter very close 
indeed. As he flees before us, we hear snatches of his 
melody, but if we wait a little, he will forget his tearfulness, 
and as he sits upon a bough with throat widely distended, 
carolling his wild, sweet, and powerful song, he may be 
approached more easily, and permits a nearer view. So 
full of song is he that even when taking his turn in incu- 
bating the eggs—which faithful little husband that he is, he 
often does—he may frequently be heard whistling merrily: 
an unfortunate circumstance for him sometimes, as it 
indicates to the egg-hunter the position of his nest. 
The Garden Warbler is also a very sweet singer. It is 
as active, but not so shy as the Blackcap, commonly 
frequenting gardens and shrubberies. _I have seen it dart 
upon passing insects, and seize them with its bill, exactly 
the same way as the Spotted Fly-catcher. 
The voice of the Whitethroat consists of various harsh, 
jarring notes, delivered with erect body and inflated crest, 
in a very pugnacious style. In the early summer it often 
appears transported with bursts of rapture, when it springs 
from its perch and rises and falls in the air with quaint 
quivering motions of the wings. 
Far less common with us is the Lesser Whitethroat—a 
delightful grey-backed little bird, with its white breast 
suffused with the most delicate tinge of blush. Its nest is 
a little cup-shaped structure of hay, like the Whitethroat’s, 
but even less compactly built, for it is often easy enough 
‘to see through the bottom, and the eggs, four or five in 
number, are white with a creamy cast, spotted mostly at 
the larger end with ash-colour, grey, and dark brown. 
