'The female spends nearly all her time covering her chicks.' 



THE COMMON, OR GREATER WHITETHROAT 



T 



HIS very common and widely 

 distributed warbler arrives 

 upon our shores in April 

 and May, and departs 

 again for its winter quar- 

 ters in the more congenial 

 South during September 

 and October. The males, 

 as in the case of so many other species, 

 come first, and pairing and nest-building 

 commence soon after the appearance of 

 the members of the opposite sex. 



The male Whitethroat is a persistent 

 vocalist, and performs all kinds of wild 

 antics, such as jerking his tail and shak- 

 ing his wings, raising the feathers on 

 his head, and puffing out his throat 

 whilst delivering his passionate little 

 ditty. He may sometimes be heard 

 singing on the wing. According to my 

 observations, he is the chief nest-builder 

 and feeder of the chicks, and whilst 

 engaged in the former task evidently 

 believes that " song lightens toil," for 

 10 



he will frequently give utterance to his 

 lively refrain even when he has dead 

 grass straws in his bill. 



The Common Whitethroat makes its 

 nest at no great height from the ground 

 in brambles, thick rough grass, wild 

 rose bushes, heather, and nettles. The 

 structure is a deep, slender, net-like 

 affair, made of dead grass stems, and 

 lined with horsehair. By country 

 people this bird is widely known as 

 the Nettle Creeper, on account of its 

 habit of breeding amongst nettles and 

 slipping stealthily away between their 

 stems when disturbed. 



The eggs number from four to six, and 

 are of a dirty greenish-white ground 

 colour, spotted and speckled with grey 

 and brown. When disturbed, the female 

 slips away amongst the undergrowth 

 and commences to scold the intruder in 

 notes that sound something like cka, 

 cha, and purr, purr. If, however, the 

 male happens to be near the nest when 



