AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 125 



and heard in every hedgerow or bushy spot, dodging 

 and creeping through the twigs, now and then show- 

 ing itself for an instant and disappearing with a flirt 

 of the tail and a harsh chiding note, and again hover- 

 ing with a jerky flight and hurried song in the air for 

 a minute, and plunging perpendicularly into a bed of 

 nettles or other shelter. The song of this bird, at 

 its best, is a comparatively poor performance, though 

 given forth with intense energy, and, if I may be 

 allowed the expression, dramatic emphasis. In 

 August the kitchen-garden at Lilford is generally 

 full of Whitethroats, but their almost entire absence 

 at that time in 1879 was very remarkable, more 

 especially as I observed that several of our other 

 summer visitors appeared there in their usual num- 

 bers, and it is difficult to imagine a cause that would 

 so affect the present species without diminishing the 

 numbers of birds so closely allied to it as the Garden- 

 Warbler, Blackcap, and Willow- Wren. The White- 

 throat is abundant in summer in almost every country 

 that I have visited, and occasionally winters in some 

 parts of the South of Europe. The nest and eggs 

 are so well known as to need no description. 



48. LESSER WHITETHROAT. 



Sylvia curruca. 



This is a less common bird with us than the last 

 described, but cannot be considered rare ; and a nest 

 may generally be found within a very short distance 

 of the spot where a brood was successfully reared 

 during the previous summer. The Lesser Whitethroat 

 arrives late in April, and remains with us, I think, as 



