126 THE BIIiDS OF ^ORrilAMPTOXSHIRE 



late, or perhaps later, than any of our summer visitors, 

 as I sometimes notice one or more of these little 

 birds haunting our thick fences at the end of Sep- 

 tember, and occasionally in October. The song of 

 this species is, to my ear, mucli more agreeable than 

 that of the Common Whitethroat, and is continued 

 throughout the month of August. I believe this 

 to be the bird, or one of the birds, to which our 

 country people give the name of "Hay-bird" or 

 " Hay-tit " ; but this I know is a somewhat vague 

 appellation, and is applied to several of our summer 

 visitors. The present is rather a shy bird, and avoids 

 observation, but seems to have a special affection for 

 certain spots, in which it may be found year after 

 year. The nest, a very slight structure of bents and 

 horsehair, is generally placed near the ground, though 

 I have found one at a heiglit of at least five feet 

 therefrom : a thick bramble bush is often chosen ; 

 and a very favourite locality is the thick young thorns 

 growing on what we call the " baulk," or grassy 

 strips of ground adjoining some of our old untrimmed 

 fences, the said thorns growing apart from tlie fence 

 in low, thick clusters, often interspersed with nettles 

 and other summer-growth. The eggs are very 

 peculiar, and can hardly be mistaken for those of any 

 other British bird ; the usual number is five, of a 

 greenish white, with spots and blotches of dark brown, 

 with, in many cases, a lighter colour underlying these 

 blotches, and giving the egg the appearance of having 

 been touched with a hot needle or with caustic. I 

 find it always somewhat difficult to describe varie- 

 gated eggs, as the colours, shades, spots, blotches, 

 speckles, and streaks are often so mingled as almost to 

 defy acciu'ate description, and no written account of an 



