THE WHITETHROAT 
manner, as if the weak little necks could hardly sup- 
port them. All day the mother feeds them, bringing 
a mouthful of insects at a time. 
Soon they are covered with soft down, and look 
very sweet and innocent. When they are fledged 
they have the same reddish-brown colouring as their 
parents, and the same greyish-white breast. The 
older birds have silvery-white chin and throat, and 
the father has a rose-coloured tinge on his breast. 
The Whitethroat eats such insects as cater- 
pillars and small beetles, but sometimes the mother 
leads her young into a garden where they enjoy a 
feast of raspberries and currants. They are often to 
be seen hanging upon nettles for the sake of the tiny 
caterpillars found there, and because of this they 
are often known as Nettle-creepers.” Altogether 
they are useful birds, and it would be a selfish man 
who would grudge them the small handful of fruit 
they take as just wages for destroying many harm- 
ful insects. 
30 
