THE WHITE-THROAT. 245 



long, is dusky above and greyish beneath, with the corners and 

 interior of the throat yellow ; the iris is greyish brown ; the 

 shanks are brownish flesh-coloured, and ten lines high; the 

 head is ash-grey : the cheeks, neck, back, rump, tail-coverts 

 and lesser wing-coverts, are also ash-grey, but tinged with 

 brown, deeper on the back than elsewhere ; the throat and 

 belly are fine white. 



The female, rather smaller and lighter, rust-coloured on the 

 wings, has not a fine white throat like the male. 



HABITATION. When wild the white-throat is spread through Europe. 

 They leave us the heginning of October, and are then observed to retire 

 from bush to bush, and from hedge to hedge. They reappear towards the 

 middle of April, fluttering about the bushes in the fields, the brambles, 

 thickets, underwood of the low mountains, and the orchards, running 

 about very swiftly. 



In the house they must be treated in the same manner as the fauvette ; 

 but they are much more delicate. An amateur had better rear young 

 birds, and treat them like nightingales. It is the only way to keep them 

 many years. 



FOOD. When wild these birds are constantly seeking among the bushes 

 for all kinds of insects, grubs, and especially small caterpillars. When, 

 from the air becoming cooler, the supply of this sort of food lessens, they 

 immediately substitute for it currants, cherries, and elderberries. 



In the house they must be fed, as we said before, on nightingales' food. 

 They may, however, be given, occasionally, barley meal and white bread 

 soaked in boiled milk ; but this food alone will not agree with them, for 

 they will upon it gradually lose their feathers, till at length they become 

 quite bare. It is a good thing in summer to give them elderberries, though 

 they may be red, and in winter dried ones, after soaking them in water. 



BREEDING The nest is formed of small grass stems and moss, and 



lined with horse-hair. It is placed in a thick bush, near the ground, or 

 among roots at the water side, sometimes even in tufts of grass. The eggs, 

 from four to six in number, are greenish white, spotted with olive green, 

 and speckled at the large end with dark ash-grey. The young leave the 

 nest so soon that it is difficult to take them from it. Their first plumage 

 resembles full-grown ones, and the females may be known by the fainter 

 tint of fawn brown with which the wing-feathers are edged. I have reared 

 them easily on ants' eggs. They soon learn to peck alone, and are 

 tolerably satisfied with bread soaked in boiled milk ; but to keep them 

 long in health they must be fed in the same manner as the nightingale. 

 They are pretty, engaging birds, thus reared, becoming so tame that they 

 will perch and sing on the finger. 



DISEASES. These are the same as those of the black-cap, which may be 

 referred to. 



MODE OP TAKING. The easiest way is to place limeu twigs on the 

 nest, but this is repugnant to persons not cruel. Towards the end of 



