118 
SYLVIAD,E. 
of the yellow bunting, the clinking of the titmouse, or the 
unceasing inquiries of the sparrow upon the house-top, re¬ 
specting the 'welfare of his mate, who sits upon her eggs 
beneath the roof. Even the extraordinary and indescribable 
notes of the starling are discontinued. 
The nest of the Lesser Whitethroat is, like that of the 
preceding species, slight in appearance, and built of dry 
stalky materials. The one now before us is composed of 
a few stems of galium, interwoven with many dead and half 
decomposed leaves of a long form, probably willow or osier. 
Several cots of spiders are employed in the outer work, and 
the inside is thickly lined with fine roots. The eggs are 
longer in form than those of the larger whitethroat, although 
smaller in size and differently marked. They are usually 
white in the ground colour, and the shell is so thin that 
when fresh the yolk is plainly to be seen, as is the case 
with many other white eggs. A few large freckles of pale 
brown are dispersed over the egg, and many dark brown 
spots of different sizes, and a few hair-like streaks, are scat¬ 
tered unequally over the surface: in some specimens these 
form a zone round the larger end. Dull ash-coloured spots 
are also visible in the zone, which Ave observe generally to 
prevail in all specimens of the Whitethroat, Lesser White- 
throat, and Dartford Warbler. These eggs occasionally 
vary in the ground-colour, some inclining to reddish, some 
to greenish-white. 
The nest of this species is usually placed in a low bush, 
or in a bramble overhanging a tangled hedge, and rather 
better concealed than that of the larger species. The little 
bird practises similar curious devices when its nest is ap¬ 
proached as before described. 
The Lesser Whitethroat is found scattered over many of 
the counties of England and Scotland, in the most Avooded 
parts ; it also visits the other countries of Europe as far 
