121 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



covert. This nest contained six eggs of a pink- 

 tinted white closely spotted with dark red, and very 

 different from any eggs I have previously found or 

 taken. I often revisited the spot, but could never 

 obtain a glimpse of the birds, nor did I ever hear 

 their note in that neighbourhood. Various authors 

 tell us that the bird arrives about the middle of April 

 and leaves us in September ; all my own observations 

 of the species were carried on in the month of May. 

 We met with the Grasshopper Warbler in some 

 abundance in the marshes near Santander, and I 

 occasionally heard its note in the neighbourhood of 

 Algiers. It is said to breed in almost every county 

 of England and Wales. To those of my readers who 

 live in the neighbourhood of furzy commons, I par- 

 ticularly recommend a search for, and, if found, a 

 patient observation of this bird, for its habits are 

 certainly very peculiar and little known compara- 

 tively speaking, and the discovery of a nest with 

 eggs may justly be looked upon as an ornithological 

 triumph. Since the above article was in print, I have 

 heard of the discovery of several nests of this species 

 in widely separate localities in our county. 



47. WHITETHROAT. 



Sylvia cinerea. 



This well-known bird is very common in Northamp- 

 tonshire, where it is commonly known as " Peggy " 

 or Nettle-bird, though I find that Morton says that 

 the "Reed-Sparrow," i.e. Reed-Bunting (Emleriza 

 sc/ioemdus), " is called Nettlemonger by some." The 

 Whitethroat arrives late in April, and is to be seen 



