68 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



larvse, spiders, soft berries and small fruits, more particularly currants and 

 cherries. Its flight is undulating. Mr. Blyth (Field Naturalist, Vol. I. p. 306) 

 says of the " babillard or Lesser Whitethroat " : — " He seems— to be always in 

 such high spirits as not to know how to contain himself, taking frequently 

 a long circuitous flight from tree to tree, and back again a dozen times, 

 seemingly for no other purpose than mere exercise; but he never mounts 

 singing into the air like the Whitethroat." 



Gatke speaking of it in Heligoland, says that " Only solitary examples 

 of this pretty little songster are met with on this island; it is the earliest 

 arrival among its nearer relatives during the spring migration, almost always 

 making its appearance as early as the first days of April, even if the weather 

 is still raw, and completes its migration by the middle of May. In the 

 autumn, when it occurs still more sparingly, it may be seen from the latter 

 half of September till towards the end of October, and at times also some- 

 what later." 



As a cage-bird the Lesser Whitethroat is not especially interesting; 

 nevertheless, if its song is not particularly attractive, I agree with Herr 

 Mathias Rausch that it has the merit of zeal (Vide ' Gefiederte Welt' 1891, 

 p. 342) "inasmuch as, even in confinement, it sings the whole day long." 

 However, I have not personally had the pleasure of keeping a fully adult 

 male of this little warbler. 



In June, 1887, I came across a nest of Lesser Whitethroats, evidently 

 only about three days old ; and, so anxious was I to discover what they 

 would be like in captivity, that I took the nest and attempted the diflScult 

 task of rearing them. With such young birds it was not onl}" necessary to 

 cover them up carefully with warm flannel every evening, after giving them 

 their last meal ; but I had to turn out of bed at sunrise to give them their 

 first breakfast ; no pleasant task at midsummer ! I persevered, however, feeding 

 them regularly on moistened ' Abrahams' Food ' every hour, until they ^^-ere 

 old enough to require nourishment less frequently. Unhappily (as is often the 

 case, even with the greatest care) they got very dirty : a flattened and pointed 

 stick is a poor substitute for the parents' bill. In consequence of the matting 

 of their feathers, the two weakest died, probably from chill ; the two remaining 

 birds were reared; but, though unnaturally fat, from lack of proper exercise, 

 they were incessantly clamouring for food ; yet they seemed healthy enough. 

 About the third week of July, in the act of stretching forward to snatch 

 some food which I offered, they fell dead from apoplexy : the moral of which 

 is — do not overfeed youngsters because they cry. 



