06 THE WILLOW WARBLER 



eggs are five to seven in number, grey-white in colour, 

 spotted with red. The young are fed with aphides and small 



FIG. 44. THE WILLOW WARBLER OR W T ILLOW WREN. 



caterpillars, the fledgelings and parents devouring countless numbers 

 of insect pests. The willow wrens leave Britain in October. 



The COMMON WHITE-THROAT or NETTLE CREEPER (Sylvia 

 cinerea), included in the Sylviadae or Warblers, averages 5j in. 

 in length, and is reddish-brown in colour on the upper parts, white 

 on the throat, and brownish white below. It arrives in Eng- 

 land about the end of April, the males arriving first. It fre- 

 quents the garden and shrubbery, hedgerows, copses and woods, 

 enlivening the parts visited with its powerful and sweet song. 

 The nest is built in open bushes, small, and mostly among brambles, 

 or on a stump covered with overgrowth. The eggs, four or five, are 

 of a greyish colour and thickly spotted with brown. The food con- 

 sists of flies, caterpillars, and other insects, the young being fed on 

 " soft " larvae, chiefly caterpillars. In September the common 

 white-throat takes its departure from Britain. 



The LESSER WHITE-THROAT or BRAKE WARBLER (Sylvia or Curmca 

 undata) is about 5 in. in length, dark grey in colour above, and the 

 under-surface white, with a pinkish tint. It arrives in England to^ 

 wards the end of April, frequenting coppices, shrubberies and gar- 

 dens, prying and searching everywhere and constantly for food, which 



