2 
WniTETHllOAT. 
England, a few o(;casionaIly come to griet on the liglit-sliips olf the oast eoast. Eaily in June 1873 I 
received the wings of two or three Common \V liitethroats whicli had fallen on hoard the Eynn lAell 
floatintr lisht dnrinff the first or second week in May. Unless some of our visitors reach this country by 
crossing the German Ocean, I am at a loss to understand what could have caused their presence on the 
stormy North Sea at that season. 
At their first arrival on our shores, Whitethroats are particularly neat and handsome birds, their 
feathers soft and glossy, the males especially exhibiting a conspicuous pale rosy bloom on their breasts. 
By the end of summer they are completely changed in appearance, their feathers worn and ragged, and the 
bright colours faded into a general dirty grey tint. 
For several weeks previous to their departure these Warblers may be noticed collecting in considerable 
numbers in the neighhourhood of the south coast. They are to be met with along broad hedgerows, and 
also fre(iuenting gardens and plantations, usually preferring those spots where they are able to find 
an abundance of thick cover. On September 12th, 1882, I remarked a couple of young birds busily engaged 
in capturing the green caterpillars of the small White Butterfly {Fontia rapes) on a bed of mignonette, 
llopping below the plants, these interesting juveniles carefully inspected the u^Dper portion of the flower; and 
on an insect being detected they fluttered upwards, and, hovering for a moment, seized their prey on the wing. 
The nest is by no means an elaborately finished structure, dead blades and stems of various grasses 
being used in its composition. Though well concealed during summer, its position is generally exposed to 
view when once the foliage on the brambles and thorn bushes has been cut up by frosts. The number of old 
nests of this species that can be counted in the hedgerows in almost any rough locality clearly indicates 
how extensively the MTiitethroat is distributed over the country. The eggs might almost be described as a 
mass of yellowish-brown streaks and spots, marked here and there with darker lines and dots, the small 
amount of ground that is visible being usually of a dirty white tint with a shade of greenish yellow. 
I have noticed several of the provincial names of this species recorded by various writers ; but I cannot 
call to mind having met with that of “ Hayjack.” The bird is commonly known by this title to the marsh-men 
in the east of Norfolk. 
