THE BLUE-THROATED WARBLER 77 
observing birds find it difficult to see it at all, as 
with a series of running hops it darts under the 
shade of overhanging bush or shrub. In the 
winter months it hardly utters more than a simple 
call-note, but as spring approaches it breaks into 
song, and at the end of March I have several times 
heard it singing most enchantingly. It seems to 
sing when on the ground, and not when perched 
amongst the bushy undergrowth; and I remember 
watching one, singing as lustily as any nightingale, 
as it stood on a bare bit of stony, sandy soil, 
bordering a little pool, fully exposed to view, 
while I sat quietly not three yards away. 
