8o SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE. 



the Blackcap and Garden Warbler, the song of the 

 Whitethroat is very pleasing in its way, and by no 

 means monotonous. It may be heard from morning 

 till night, and even during the heat of the day, when 

 most birds are silent. 



Having selected a site for its nest, the White- 

 throat displays the most wonderful energy and 

 activity in collecting materials for it, and the rapidity 

 with which it constructs it is surprising. It is 

 generally placed near the ground, amongst nettles, 

 long grass, or tall weeds, and is constructed of dry 

 grass-stems and horse-hair, often so slightly inter- 

 woven that the eggs may be seen through the sides 

 of the nest. It is, nevertheless, tolerably firm, and 

 must be pretty strong to bear the weight of the 

 young when hatched, and the parent birds as they 

 alight to feed them. 



Occasionally the nest may be found in a bramble, 

 and even in a hedgerow ; and Mr. M. S. Rickards, 

 in The Zoologist for 1875, has recorded his discovery 

 of a Whitethroat's nest at the extreme top of a 

 whitethorn bush, fully twelve feet from the ground, 

 a most unusual height, the nest being rarely, if 

 ever, placed out of reach. 



