BIRD-LIFE IN FIELD AND HEDGEROW. 137 



nimble though these insects be, and the capture 

 is generally eaten upon the ground, but sometimes 

 carried to the hedge. We have seen this Shrike 

 hold a grasshopper in one foot, whilst it picked it 

 to pieces. As most readers may be aware, this 

 Shrike has a curious habit of impaling insects on 

 the thorns in the hedge, spitting them thus for 

 future needs. Mice and small birds are frequently 

 captured and served in the same manner. The 

 way these Shrikes can bolt grasshoppers one after 

 the other is a revelation ; we should also state that 

 the indigestible portions of the food wing cases, 

 wings, feathers, bones, etc., are cast up in the form 

 of pellets. 



As might reasonably be expected, these dense 

 tangled hedgerows are specially favoured by the 

 Warblers. It is true some of the species such as 

 the Lesser Whitethroat are more abundant in 

 other parts of England, but those we do have 

 make ample amends for this slight deficiency. 

 Commonest of them all is the Whitethroat, the 

 " White-drot " as the country people call him, a 

 bird that is to be found in almost every hedge 

 between April and September. He is perhaps 

 the most frequently seen of all, and delights in 



