THE WARBLERS 1667 



nest is placed in a bush or shrub, firmly built of strong bents, lined 

 with finer bents, fibre, and horsehair; the eggs being white, spotted 

 with olive brown. The lesser whitethroat is very partial to gardens, 

 this being partly accounted for by its fondness for fruit, which is especially mani- 

 fested when raspberries become ripe. It becomes very tame in confinement, and 

 eats pears and other fruit with avidity. The adult male has the upper parts slaty 

 gray, suffused with brown on the back; the wings and tail are brown; the under 

 parts white, the breast tinged with pink, and the ear coverts dark brown, and 

 conspicuous. 



The subalpine warbler (S. subalpina) has a wide range, inhabiting 



the whole of the Mediterranean region, as well as North Africa and 

 Warbler 



the Canaries. It is an agile bird, building a globe-shaped nest, placed 



in thick bushes, and situated from three to five feet above the ground, which is built 

 of stems of grass, lined with fine fibres. The eggs are greenish white, finely spotted 

 with brown. The subalpine warbler is full of activity, and flits about the bushes 

 catching insects. The adult male has the upper parts slaty gray; the wings are 

 brown, with pale edges; the tail brown, with more or less white on the outer 

 feathers, and the throat and breast chestnut, shading into paler chestnut on the 

 flanks, and to nearly white in the centre of the breast. 



This pretty little bird (S. conspitillatd) is another Mediterranean 



species, resident in some parts of its habitat, and in others a summer 

 Warbler 



visitant. A migrant in the north of Spain, it is there somewhat shy 



and retiring, flitting about the roadside in a furtive, uneasy fashion, and quite 

 solitary. The spectacled warbler builds its nest in a small bush about a foot from 

 the ground, and the eggs are white, blotched with green. The short, sweet song 

 has been compared to that of the goldfinch. The adult male has the crown slaty 

 gray, shading into grayish chestnut on the centre of the back; the wings are dark 

 brown, edged with chestnut; the tail feathers dark brown, the outer ones being par- 

 tially pied; while the chin is white, fading into slaty gray on the throat, which 

 again fades into vinous red on the breast and flanks. 



Another South-European bird is the pretty black-headed Sardinian 

 lf w^bl warbler (S. sarda), an active, restless species, partial to the neighbor- 

 hood of undergrowth. It builds in a branch of some tree, generally 

 at a small distance from the ground, and constructs its nest of blades of grass and 

 roots, lining it with fine bents. The eggs are greenish white blotched at the larger 

 end with greenish gray. This warbler is common in the pine woods around Cannes, 

 as also in the gardens near the sea, and its habits have been compared to those of the 

 whitethroat. The male sings from a bush and then darts off in a jerking flight into 

 the air still singing, while the old birds, like the blackcap, simulate the appearance 

 of being injured when tt\ey find their young endangered, trailing their wings in the 

 dust and exhibiting the greatest distress. The song is not unlike that of a garden 

 warbler, but is more intermittent. The plumage of the adult male is slaty gray 

 above, shading into black on the nape, head, and ear coverts; the wings are dark 

 brown edged with gray, and the tail is dark gray tipped with white; the throat 

 being white fading into grayish white. 



