138 Lhe Whttethroat. 

The song of this bird is simple, and its twitterings 
are heard both while on the higher parts of the hedge 
as well as on the wing. During the time of singing it | 
keeps the feathers on the top of its head erect; in 
the latter movement it often shows great and pleasing 
activity while rising into the air—twisting about 
curiously, and singing the whole time—making its 
presence very amusing. It is more a hedge bird than 
for the ground or trees, caring not to be in a lofty 
situation, and, at the same time, it prefers perching 
rather than being on a flat surface. In England it is 
one of our most common: warblers of a migratory 
nature, and is more generally scattered over this land 
than many of our foreign songsters are. On its first 
arrival it feeds on insects, caterpillars, larve of cabbage 
butterflies, and wild berries ; but when raspberries-are 
ripe, it partakes of them in an unlimited manner with 
its young, who seem to think them just the thing. 
There is nothing very particular in the flight of this 
bird to guarantee it at a distance from other species 
of a similar kind, only that, when frightened from a 
hedge, it is in again directly, as if only leaving the 
