142 BIRDS. 



The nest, made of leaves and lined with horse-hair and 

 rootlets, is placed close to the ground at the foot of a 

 clump in the thickest and most tangled part of a hedge. 

 Eggs, 5, about J inch; resemble small olives, being un- 

 spotted greenish brown. 



2. THE WAEBLERS. 



[With the exception of the foregoing, most of our song- 

 birds are included in this group, though they vary greatly 

 in the quality of their voice. Two residents ; twelve 

 regular visitors; eight irregular visitors and stragglers.] 



The Whitethroat is widely distributed from April to 

 September, save in parts of the Highlands. The note 



* White- i s swee t, but neither loud nor sustained. The 

 throat, bird feeds on insects and grubs, with an oc- 

 casional meal of fruit. The nest, built early in May, is of 

 dry grasses and bents, lined with hair, and is placed, not 

 far from the ground, in bushes. Eggs, 5, about ^ inch ; 

 there are several types; and in the summer of 1886 I took 

 eleven distinct varieties from the furze-bushes of Dartford 

 Heath and the neighbouring park. They go through every 

 shade from palest yellow to deep green, some spotless, but 

 the majority profusely speckled with pale brown. 



Also with us in the southern counties from April to 

 September, the Lesser Whitethroat is rarely found in 



* Lesser Wales or Scotland, never reaches the High- 

 White- lands, and is unknown in Ireland. It bears 

 throat, considerable resemblance to its larger relative 



in appearance, being distinguished by the absence of red 

 from the wings. In habits and food there is little differ- 

 ence. The nest, similar but smaller, is found in the same 

 situations. The egg, also smaller, is of lighter hue with 

 similar markings. A second brood is usually reared. 

 Orphean Warbler. A rare straggler from the South. 



