52 
PICTURES OF BIRD LIFE. 
and much horse-hair the lining is composed, but the nest itself is very open and thin 
at the sides. The eggs are from four to six in number, of a greenish white, 
suffused with small specks of olive-green or grey and brown. Its food consists 
of various kinds of insects until the fruit is ripe, when it brings its young brood 
to the gardens and commits great havoc among raspberries, currants, and cherries. 
When the male sings it erects the crest on its head, like a Blackcap, puffs out 
its throat, and jerks its tail, and occasionally sings while on the wing. The 
plumage of the female is less pure, and the upper parts are more clouded and 
rust-coloured. 
The Lesser Whitethroat was first discovered in this country by Lightfoot. 
It, too, is a spring migrant, and in most of its habits resembles the previously 
described species. It is rather smaller than the last, ash-coloured above, tinged 
with brown; the wings, too, are brown, tail dusky, and lower plumage pure 
silvery white. It is a regular visitor wherever there are gardens, and a great 
destroyer of fruit. The female is not quite so large as the male, which has been 
seen in two instances with a beautiful tinge of pink on the breast. It, too, is 
common throughout Europe, and is found in the Deccan. It is rare, however, 
in Scotland and unknown in Ireland. In Germany this bird is known as “ das 
Mullerchen ” (the little miller), from its clucking tones, which resemble in some 
degree the monotonous noise of a mill. Professor Newton says this frequent 
repetition of notes may be syllabled as “ sip, sip, sip.” In sultry weather they 
are constantly repeated. In some seasons this bird visits us in greater abundance 
than at other times. The nest and eggs, together with the position in which the 
former is placed, much resemble those of the cognate bird. It may be easily 
reared on being taken from the nest, but in consequence of much of its food 
consisting of insects, aphides, &c., it is difficult to maintain it in life and health. 
Like its congeners, it leaves us in September. 
The chief points connected with the Blackcap, to sum up what has been said 
of it, are its extreme shyness and its song. He who would watch it amidst the 
thick leaves of the haunts it affects has need of much patience and of very sharp 
eyes. As for its song, almost all authors who know it have written of it in 
raptures. Thus Broderip (“ Zoological Recreations,” p. 62) says, “The Blackcap is by 
common consent acknowledged to excel all the other warblers in the power, beauty, 
and execution of its notes, excepting the queen of song; and in quality of tone 
it certainly is, in our opinion, only inferior to the nightingale. But the male is a 
most sweet singer; nor is the song of the female without attraction; and it is but 
