BIRDS. 109 



ROBIN REDBREAST B. Very common. The red- 



Erithacus rubecula. mottled eggs are almost as well known 



as the bird. Mr. G. Fox, junr., found 



a nest near Shrewsbury in 1898, containing five pure 



white eggs. 



Nightingale B. This lovely songster does not seem often 



Daulias luscinia. to occur North of Shrewsbury, though 



Apl. in. Sept. ii. it is found sparingly every year along 



the Severn Valley up to that point, 



and has nested in the neighbourhood several times. 



There is evidence that its range is gradually extending 



Westwards, and the Rev. J. B. Meredith has heard it 



three times near Kinnerley. A nest was taken a few 



years ago within two miles of Shrewsbury, but it would 



not be advisable to name the locality. 



Whitethroat B. Provincial names, Nettle Creeper ; from 

 Sylvia cinerea. its fondness for beds of nettles : Jack- 



Apl. in. Sept. i. Straw, in allusion to its loosely built 

 nest of grass-stalks. Very common. 



Lesser Whitethroat B. Found all over the County, and 

 5. curruca. apparently more plentiful some years 



Apl. in. Sept. in. than others, but as a rule less numer- 

 ous than the last, which it much re- 

 sembles, both in habits and appearance. 



Blackcap B. Fairly plentiful Summer visitor, nesting in 

 S. atricapilla. underwoods and shrubberies. Its song 



Apl. in. Sept. ii. almost rivals that of the Nightingale. 



Garden Warbler B. Rather common in similar situations 

 S. kortensis. to the Blackcap ; it, too, is a beautiful 



May ii. Sept. iv. songster. 



