46 WARBLER. 



above cinereous brown ; back reddish ; wing coverts margined with 

 rufous; throat white; breast and belly reddish white, darker on the 

 breast and sides; quills and tail dusky, the feathers of both edged 

 with pale brown ; the outer one of the tail wholly white on the outer 

 web, and the inner the same, except at the base. 



The female has the breast and belly wholly greyish white. Indi- 

 viduals seem to differ ; in some, there is much mixture of reddish on 

 the upper parts, in others plain brown ; and they are also seen to 

 vary, in having more or less white in the two outer tail feathers ; 

 but how far such birds are to be accounted Varieties, or differing 

 from age, does not seem apparent. 



This species appears first about the middle of April, and leaves 

 us in autumn. The nest generally found in a low hedge, of a very 

 flimsy texture, composed of moss, dried grass and fibres, sometimes 

 having a few hairs within ; the eggs generally five, greenish grey, 

 marked with pale reddish brown spots all over, and weighing about 

 27 grains. It seems to be spread throughout the kingdom, and has 

 an agreeable and lively song, at which time it, for the most part, 

 erects the feathers of the crown into a sort of crest. It is more like 

 the Pettichaps than any other, but this latter has never any rufous 

 tinge in the plumage, and the tail feathers are of one colour. 



The White Throat, called by some the Nettle-creeper, feeds both 

 on insects and fruits, and may be seen in the summer in the gardens, 

 making havock among the cherries and currants ; but by way of 

 recom pence, destroys also a multitude of noxious insects, spiders, &c. 

 and is a well known and common species, both here and on the 

 Continent of Europe, as may be seen from the various synonyms 

 quoted ; by the people of Provence, in France, it is called Passerine. 

 It extends southward into Spain at the least, being well known in 

 the Province of Andalusia, and is said to be met with in Gibraltar 

 at all seasons. 



