GREATER WHITETHROAT. 407 



especially those which are overgrown with brambles and the 

 weeds usually found in such places : beds of nettles have a 

 great attraction for it, and hence one of the commonest pro- 

 vincial names by which this bird is known, is that of " Nettle- 

 creeper ". The males arrive, as in most instances among 

 our Warblers, before the females, and on their arrival display 

 themselves with many odd antics ; but both sexes are active, 

 vigilant and shy, retreating immediately, on being alarmed 

 or pursued, into the seclusion afforded by the thick under- 

 wood and coarse vegetation of their favourite haunts. The 

 nest is placed in a low bush, or a tall nettle, but more often 

 among a tangled mass of brambles, long grass and weeds, 

 especially where the Chenopodium flourishes. It is occasion- 

 ally placed near the ground, seldom more than three feet 

 from the surface, and is formed on the outside almost entirely 

 of dried grass-stems, or the stalks of umbelliferous plants, 

 and is lined with finer bents, with a few of the flowering 

 heads of grass or horsehair, but the sides and bottom are 

 very thin and open. The eggs are from four to six in 

 number, of a greenish-white, suffused or mottled with small 

 specks of olive-green, or the ground may be of a stone-colour 

 with patches of grey and marbled with light brown : the 

 markings are sometimes gathered at one end, but are most 

 commonly pretty equally dispersed. They measure from *76 

 to -67 by from -57 to '52 in., and are usually laid early in May. 

 The food of this species consists of insects in their various 

 stages, particularly white caterpillars, and most of the 

 smaller-sized fruits and berries, to obtain some of which 

 they visit the kitchen-garden, and bring their young with 

 them in July and August. Some of the notes of this bird, 

 and especially its call, are rather harsh, others are pleasing, 

 though too frequently repeated ; but the cock always sings 

 in earnest, erecting his crest, puffing out his throat, shaking 

 his wings, jerking his tail and making other rapid move- 

 ments, which mark his zeal and agitation. Occasionally he 

 sings on the wing, ascending with a peculiar flight, rapidly 

 describing small circles, and after a few turns descending to 

 the spot from which he arose. The bird is equally lively 



