86 SYLVIIDiE. 
March, returning in September. They are to be seen every- 
where, nesting in small thorny bushes. The nest is not weU- 
built, and is made of strips of plants and blades of grass, with- 
out roots ; rarely there is a little wool. It is lined with the 
down of some cotton-like plant, fine fibres of roots, and a few 
horse-hairs. They lay from April to July." — Favier; 
The Black -headed Warbler, equally common around Gib- 
raltar, is found in all scrub, gardens, and in the midst of woods, 
scolding with a chattering noise much like that of our common 
Wren. It might well be named the Gibraltar Warbler, being 
the only species which is a regular resident on the Rock. In 
habits it much resembles the Blackcap, but is more restless 
and obtrusive, and consequently more conspicuous ; the con- 
trast between the jet-black head of the adult male and the 
white throat also renders it more liable to be noticed. There 
were in different years several nests in my garden, which I 
religiously preserved; but what with cats and inquisitive human 
beings, they seldom succeeded in rearing their young. The 
earliest egg laid was on the 12th of March ; this was built in 
a small rose-bush, and was spoiled by a gale of wind, which 
blew all the eggs out of it, being the only one I ever saw in 
what could be called an open bush. All the others were 
placed in thick bushes, generally box, about two to four feet 
from the ground, and were formed of grass with a few bits of 
cotton-thread, lined with hair. The eggs vary in number 
from three to five. The male assists in incubation. 
This Warbler is, like the Blackcap and Garden- Warbler, 
very fond of figs and grapes and all kinds of fruit. The fea- 
thers at the base of the bill and the throat are often much 
coloured with the pollen of cactus and aloe flowers, and with 
the seed of the " pepper-tree." 
The adult male has brick-red eyelids. 
90. Sylvia curruca. Lath. The Lesser Whitethroat. 
This species is, as far as my observations go, rare. I ob- 
tained it once in my garden at Gibraltar in April, and another 
on the 19th of April, 1872. It does not appear to have been 
observed by M. Favier. 
