NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



THE LESSER WHITETHROAT. 



THE Lesser White- 

 throat arrives in April 

 and leaves again in 

 September. It is far 

 less numerous than its 

 larger relative, and is 

 not so widely distri- 

 buted over the British 

 Islands. This bird is 

 most plentiful in the 

 South and East of 

 England, becoming scarcer 

 towards the North and 

 West, rare in Scotland, 

 and absent altogether from 

 Ireland as a breeding species. 



It measures just over five inches in 

 length, and has the upper parts greyish- 

 brown, wings and tail dusky, the feathers 

 being edged with greyish-brown instead 

 of chestnut, which distinguishes it from 

 the Greater Whitethroat. 'The under 

 parts are greyish-white. 

 136 



