Birdwatching for beginners

Whitethroat

When whitethroats arrive from their wintering grounds south of the Sahara they like to flit about the hedgerows, exploring their summer accommodation. A similar size to great tits, they are members of the warbler family and give voice when perched or in flight. There's a scratchy catch to their call, but a cheery tone, too, as they rapidly repeat a short verse several times over. Both sexes have a distinctive white throat, with the male's crisper than the female's. Males have a pinkish breast, grey head, white eye ring and dark wing feathers with red-brown edging. Females have a subtler grey-brown head, with off-white breast and similar wings. The legs are sturdy and yellow, and the beak is slender and strong. The tail is relatively long and bobs up and down as the birds search for insects and berries. By Susie Wood