THE WHITETHROAT 



cealing itself amongst the dense foliage, where the un- 

 mistakable call-note of tay-tay-tay and the trembling 

 of the twigs proclaims its presence. The Whitethroat 

 reaches the London district towards the end of April, in 

 most seasons late enough to evade the last snap of winter, 

 and when insect life is stirring in abundance. This is 

 not always the case, however, for in the spring of 

 1908 the Whitethroat and many other migrants had an 

 experience which fortunately is rare. The last ten days 

 of April were marked by wintry conditions, and several 

 falls of snow occurred. It was a novel sight on April 24 

 to watch the Whitethroat near Sudbury flitting about 

 snow-draped hedgerows and across the white fields, 

 silent and ill at ease, in company with Willow Warblers, 

 fellow wanderers in distress. Probably the birds had 

 never seen snow before, and there can be little doubt 

 that the Whitethroats at any rate perished for lack of food. 

 The return migration of the Whitethroat takes place in 

 September. The song of this species is a blithe, sweet, 

 garrulous little lay, rich with a wild beauty all its own. 

 The bird is a most industrious singer, and as often as not 

 warbles as he flies or whilst threading his way with 

 wonderful speed through the matted hedges. He con- 

 tinues in voice until the end of July. The food of this 

 species is largely composed of insects and larvae, but 

 soft corn and garden fruits are eagerly sought. Its nest- 

 ing season is in May and June. The simple little nest 

 may be found in a great variety of situations, in gardens 

 and hedges, amongst the tangled vegetation by the 

 roadside or in any convenient thicket of briar, brambles, 

 or nettles, sometimes close to the ground, at others 

 several feet above it. It is a flimsy little structure, a 

 deep and rounded cup, chiefly composed of dead grass, 

 stalks, and roots, lined with horsehair. The five or six 

 eggs range from greyish to buffish white in ground colour, 

 mottled, clouded, and freckled with light brown and olive- 



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