Page:The Natural History of Ireland vol1.djvu/212

 cularly abundant. Early in July, 1837, a nest containing eggs was discovered at the "Falls" within about ten paces of a public highway, and twice that distance from an occupied dwelling- house. It was elevated about a foot above the ground, in a sloe- bush, and concealed by the growing grass of a late meadow. White-throats, perched on hedges or underwood, with caterpil- lars in their bills, denoting the vicinity of the nestlings, will often permit our approach within a few paces, all the time keeping a great uproar, consisting of a mere repetition of the word churr.

A young white-throat caught in the middle of June when just fledged, was taken home by the captor. It was at first fed on bread and milk, and worms, but on the third day began to catch flies for itself, when taken near to them. It became perfectly tame. Its favourite perch was the finger of its owner, from which it very expertly picked up the "flies on the window-panes of the house."*

On April the 23rd, 1841, when on the way from Malta to the Morea, in H.M.S. Beacon, a. white-throat, migrating northwards, flew on board, when we were 80 miles from Malta, and 50 from Cape Passaro, the nearest land: when walking about Navarino on the 28th, my attention was called to one by its song.

In Dr. Patrick Brown's "Catalogue of the Birds of Ireland," published in Exshaws Magazine for 1772, I find, — "Motacilla Curruca, White-bellied Nightingale, seen about Ballydangan, in May, 1774, Brown." To the Catalogue a notice of the "ska or white-throat" is also appended. No specimen of the (S. curruca) obtained in Ireland, has as yet come under my own notice, or that of any of my correspondents by whom the species is known, but I anticipate its being added to the Irish Pauna : the gun being very rarely directed against warb- lers, may be the reason that it has not yet been met with. Its occurrence, even in the south of Scotland, was not known to Sir Wm. Jardine at the time of his writing the "British Birds;" Mr. Macgillivray, however, notices the species as met with there, but as being "very uncommon," vol. ii. p. 358.

Garrett.