116 
SYLVIADiE. 
by its flight from the top of one tree to another, but is con¬ 
tinued when on the wing. 
In the time of Gilbert White this bird was but little 
known, but is mentioned by him in the following terms, in 
one of his letters ; “ A rare, and I think a new little bird 
frequents my garden, which I have great reason to think is 
the pettichaps; it is common in some parts of the kingdom, 
and I have received formerly several dead specimens from 
Gibraltar. This bird much resembles the whitethroat, but 
has a more white, or rather silvery breast and belly; it is 
restless and active, like the willow wrens, and hops from 
bough to bough, examining every part for food ; it also runs 
up the stems of the crown imperials, and putting its head 
into the bells of those flowers, sips the liquor which stands in 
the nectarium of each petal. Sometimes it feeds on the 
ground like the hedge-sparrow, by hopping about on the 
grass-plots and mown walks.'” 
The Lesser Whitethroat is far from being so common as 
the larger species; on the contrary, it is considered as rather 
a scarce bird in many parts of England. In various localities, 
however, in Surrey, w^e have found it in tolerable plenty, espe¬ 
cially in the most wooded parts ; and its nests and eggs have 
frequently been brought to us. It is in this county in far 
greater plenty than the blackcap. In gardens and orchards, 
which are usually much frequented by this species, they may 
often be seen flitting among the fruit-trees in search of in¬ 
sects, especially the green aphides that infest them in the 
spring ; and they also approach close to dwellings, with the 
greatest seeming familiarity, to seek for similar insects among 
roses, and other flowering shrubs. This species frequents 
gardens more than the preceding, which rather delights in 
lonely hedges and commons, scattered with furze. 
While listening to the notes of birds, the truth of an 
observation made by Rennie has often come in full force to 
