30 BRITISH BIRDS 
Bird Length 5} in. Distinguished by the rust-coloured 
edgings of the wing-coverts and 
secondaries. The male, in breeding 
plumage, has the head ash-grey, 
upper-parts brown tinged with ochre 
(clay yellow), the under-parts whitish, 
except the forebreast which has a 
ee rosy tint, and the throat which is 
pure white. Wing and tail chiefly 
Fig. 32. 
brown or rust brown, but the outer 
tail-feathers are mostly white. The female differs chiefly in 
having the head brown, and being duller. Young are like 
the female, but browner, 
Nest. Usually near the ground, in tangled herbage, small 
bushes or hedges. Material: grasses and roots loosely put to- 
gether and lined with horse-hair. 
Eggs. Usually 5. Greenish with ochreous or lead-hued 
markings. Sometimes white or bluish with or without 
markings, also pink with reddish markings. Av. size, *75 x °54 
in. Laying begins in May. Usually one brood. 
53. Lesser-whitethroat [Sylvia curruca curruca (Linneus)]. 
Summer visitor to England and Wales, rare in the south-west, 
northern counties, aud Welsh seaboard. Not proved to breed 
in Scotland and Ireland. Bird of passage. 
Bird. Length 5} in. Distinguished from the preceding by 
the grey head, the absence of chestnut on the wing, and 
smaller size. Sexes alike, but female duller. Upper-parts 
mostly greyish-brown. Tail brownish-grey. Outer web of 
outermost tail-feathers white. Under-parts whitish, with 
throat pure white, forebreast tinged with pinkish-buff, flanks 
with buffish-brown. Wings brownish-grey with brown edgings 
in parts. 
Nest. Place: thick bushes, hedges, tangle, usually near ground. 
Material: stalks, grasses, lined with rootlets, fine grasses, and 
hair. 
Eggs. Usually 5-6. Creamy or white with a zone or cap of 
brown and grey marking at the big end. Av. size, °65 x °49 in. 
Laying begins:‘in May. One brood, possibly two. 
54. Blackcap [Sylvia atricapilla (Linneus)|. Summer 
visitor, generally distributed in woodland districts, but local. 
Searce in Ireland and N. Scotland. Bird of passage. Winters 
occasionally in 8.W. England. 
Bird. Length 53in. Distinguished from our other warblers 
by the cap—black in the male, brown in the female and young. 
There is no white in the tail. The upper-parts, wing-coverts, 
and tail are ash-grey with olive-brown tinge on the back, and 
