. Our native songsters . chd from the careless Amaltheas horn ;And how the wood-berries and worms provideWithout their pains, when earth hath nought besideTo answer their small wants. Bat far more common than even the gardenwarbler is the IVhitethroat* {Curruca cinerea),another bird called also Fauvette, the Fauvettegrise, or Grisette of BufFon, which is, too, a migra-tory species, arriving in Britain at the season oflove and hope, of budding trees and flowerymeadows. It is here by the end of April, andevery one used to the country has marked itswhite throat and grey chest and black-tippedhead
. Our native songsters . chd from the careless Amaltheas horn ;And how the wood-berries and worms provideWithout their pains, when earth hath nought besideTo answer their small wants. Bat far more common than even the gardenwarbler is the IVhitethroat* {Curruca cinerea),another bird called also Fauvette, the Fauvettegrise, or Grisette of BufFon, which is, too, a migra-tory species, arriving in Britain at the season oflove and hope, of budding trees and flowerymeadows. It is here by the end of April, andevery one used to the country has marked itswhite throat and grey chest and black-tippedhead. Notwithstanding that our rural retreatsreceive at this season a great accession ofsongsters, the hurried but sweet song of thewhitethroat is no small addition to the concert,and none the less valuable that it is heard so * The Whitethroat is five inches and a half in length. Upperparts reddish brown, greyish on the head and neck ; under partswhitish, tinged from the breast downward with rose-colour; beakand feet Y^ \? THE WHITETHROAT. 161 often. The bird seems quite a musical enthusiast,uttering its notes apparently under tlic influenceof great excitement, the throat much distendedand throbbing all the while, and the feathers onthe crown of its head raised up so as to form acrested tuft, while the vibrating wings and tailmark the eagerness of the singer. Sometimes itflies off, wheeling round and round with a quiver-ing motion, and singing sweetly at the same time,till having performed several circles in the air, itcomes back to the spot whence it started, andflnishes the song. The heat of summer nowcomes on, and most birds are silent for awhile,till cooler hours arrive; but not so with our heartysinger, for its voice may be heard alone amid thegeneral hush, and when a drowsiness seems tohave come over all the living things around, wliileit is also continued long after the twilight ofevening. ^Ir. Sweet, who has contributed somuch to our knowledge of the habits and man
Size: 1199px × 2083px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1853
