British Song Birds, 123 



on the plan of Mr. Sweet. Mr. Bennett's young birds were 

 caught on Wimbledon Common, where they have been some- 

 times seen before, as well as on Hounslow Heath, and in the 

 vicinity of Dartford in Kent. I have never heard their song ; 

 but it is said to be soft and pleasing. The retired habits of 

 this warbler keep it out of notice, and therefore it is called 

 rare ; though, if the middle of extensive commons were care- 

 fully explored, it may be found as plentiful in England, per- 

 haps, as it is said to be in Provence, in France. They are of 

 a dark reddish colour above, with throat and breast brightly 

 tinged with red ; about the size of the long-tailed titmouse 

 (Parus caudatus), and, except that their tail is not quite so 

 long, have very much the shape and action of that bird. 



From the common let us walk down to the sedgy sides of 

 the brook, or lake : here we may hear, if not see, two more 

 of the tribe of warblers. The first is the Reed Warbler (Sylvia 

 arundinacea). This is a small bird, frequenting reedy 

 marshes, or willow holts. Their song is a long irregular 

 strain of notes, quickly and jerkingly enunciated, but with- 

 out being very loud, and in some passages not unlike its 

 constant neighbour the Sedge Warbler (Sylvia phragmites). 

 This last is a songster of most wonderful powers. He may 

 be called the Italian, as to style : for the whole excellence 

 consists in the variety and extremely ridiculous rapidity of his 

 execution. It is impossible to give any thing like an intelli- 

 gible description of his long-continued extravaganza. Spirited, 

 changeful, precipitously running over every note and half- 

 note within the compass of his pipe, quicker than even atten- 

 tion can follow ; touching, as he passes, the notes of other 

 birds so exactly that he has been called a mocking-bird, and 

 supposed to possess the power of imitating all others. Some- 

 times he soars up in the air, jerking in his flight, and singing, 

 as he descends, in the manner of the whitethroat. But what 

 adds peculiarly to his value as a vocalist, is his propensity to 

 be a serenader, especially if he happens to be disturbed by 

 any noise. 



The Wheatear (Sylvia ffinanthe) is a warbler, and its song 

 is reported as being agreeable, though soft and low. As they 

 congregate on stony commons, they do not join the harmony 

 of the woods ; and, are therefore, less known as songsters 

 than most of the others. 



The Grasshopper Lark (Sylvia trivialis) is (though, per- 

 haps, incorrectly) classed among the warblers. They frequent 

 thick underwoods, and are easily distinguished from all other 

 birds by their long-continued monotonous birring note, much 

 like that of a field-cricket. It may be observed that they 



