1 96 



CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



THE BLACK-TIIROATED MEADOW WARBLER. 

 The Black-throated Meadow Warbler {Pratincola rubicola), a species very nearly allied 

 to that above described, is black upon the throat and over the entire upper part of the body ; 

 the under side is rust-red ; the rump, a spot upon the wings, and the sides of the neck are pure 

 white. The female is greyish black upon the throat and mantle, the feathers of the latter edged 

 with reddish yellow; the entire under side is of the latter hue. Both these birds inhabit the 

 continent of Europe and some portions of Asia, and are often met with in Northern Africa during 

 their winter journeyings. All, however, do not migrate. We are told on good authority that they are 

 seen in Spain and Great Britain throughout the entire year. Everywhere they show a very decided 



THE BI.ACK-THROATED MEADOW WARBLER {Pratincola rubicola). 



preference for cultivated districts, and especially delight in well-watered pasture-land, or such open 

 fields as are upon the outskirts of woods ; indeed, the more fruitful the situation the more numerously 

 do they congregate. Their voice is sweet, full, and capable of producing a great variety of cadences. 

 Like most other members of their family, they sing almost incessantly during the spring and 

 early part of the summer, and are often to be heard far into the night. The nests of both these 

 species is loosely formed of dry leaves, fibres, or grass, mixed with a little moss, lined with some elastic 

 material, such as a layer of horsehair. Grass-meadows are generally selected, as affording situations 

 adapted for building purposes, and the nests are placed with so much care within hollows on the 

 ground, or beneath a low bush that, as frequently happens, the brooding pairs are not discovered, 

 either when the field is mowed, or even when the haymakers have raked the grass from its surface. 

 The eggs, five or six in number, are broad in shape, with delicate, glossy, light blueish green shells, 

 and are laid from May to June. The female alone broods; the eggs are hatched in about a fortnight. 



