49 2 
PERCHING BIRDS. 
Whitethroat. 
differ materially from adults in colour. This group of birds, in common with the 
Ruticillince, is of almost universal distribution, but so preponderates in the Eastern 
Hemisphere, that Mr. Wallace describes it as an Old World assemblage only 
meagrely represented in North America. 
The common whitethroat (Sylvia rufa ) is one of the most 
abundant of summer birds throughout Europe, arriving in its 
breeding-haunts in 
April, and speedily com¬ 
mencing to make its 
artless nest, composed 
of dry stems of grass 
and flowering plants, 
lined with finer bents 
and sometimes a little 
horsehair. The eggs 
are white, mottled with 
olive-green specks. The 
male sings noisily upon 
the wing, generally 
starting up from the 
top of a hawthorn 
hedge, and then slowly 
descending, with the 
tail at an angle to the 
body. It may fre¬ 
quently be seen picking 
small moths off the 
blossoms of the gorse, 
as it flits actively from 
one plant to another, 
and utters a harsh 
croak. The adult male has the upper-parts greyish brown, the wing-coverts and 
innermost secondaries being edged with chestnut, the outer tail-feathers margined 
with white, and the lower-parts buffy white. 
Lesser The lesser whitethroat ( S. curruca) is a scarcer bird than the 
Whitethroat. ] as t ) but its pretty song may be heard about the hedgerows and 
bushes in many parts of Europe. The nest is placed in a bush or shrub, firmly 
built of strong bents, lined with finer bents, fibre, and horsehair; the eggs being 
white, spotted with olive-brown. The lesser whitethroat is very partial to gardens, 
this being partly accounted for by its fondness for fruit, which is especially mani¬ 
fested when raspberries become ripe. It becomes very tame in confinement, and 
eats pears and other fruit with avidity. The adult male has the upper-parts slaty 
grey, suffused with brown on the back, the wings and tail are brown; the under-parts 
white, the breast tinged with pink, and the ear-coverts dark brown, and conspicuous. 
Subaipine The subalpine warbler (S. subalpina) has a wide range, inhabiting 
the whole of the Mediterranean region, as well as North Africa and 
LESSER AND COMMON WHITETHROAT (J nat. size). 
Warbler. 
