144 BIRDS. 



insects and fruit. Its nest, a large edition of the black- 

 cap's, is found in similar i)laces, more often in gardens. 

 The eggs, also a, trifle larger, are otherwise nearly identical. 

 Barred Warbler. — A rare autumn straggler, distin- 

 guished by the white bars on the wings and tail and 

 the dark bars on the chest. Only about half-a-dozen 

 occurrences are recorded — one in Ireland, a second in 

 Skye, the rest in our eastern counties. 



The collector of eggs finds a solemn interest in the 

 Dartford Warbler akin to that which the entomologist 



might experience after a week's hunt for the 

 art or d chimerical and coveted " skipper " in and 



around the sleepy little cove at Lulworth. 

 Judging from my own experience of three summers spent 

 right on Dartford Heath, I should think that the tyj^e 

 from which in 1773 the species was named must have 

 been the first and last ever seen in the neighbourhood. I 

 have taken the eggs in Richmond Park and in the Isle of 

 Wight, but not within ten miles of Dartford. Though 

 comjDaratively scarce north of the Thames, it has been 

 found breeding in Yorkshire. It is a much darker bird than 

 the other warblers. It feeds on insects and berries. The 

 nest is usually found in furze-bushes (hence called " Furze- 

 chat "), and is a slightly more compact structure than that 

 of the whitethroat. £^c/gs, 5, rather smaller than those of 

 the blackcap ; brownish white, with many brown spots. 

 Two broods are reared. 



The Goldcrest, smallest of British birds, is, owing to its 

 wanderings from one part of the country to another, 

 known in some parts, notably at the coast, 

 as the " Woodcock- pilot," presumably from 

 its arriving just before the Woodcock. It has a black-and- 

 yellow crest, and the wings are barred with black and 

 white. With the exception of the Outer Hebrides and 

 some other of the isles, it breeds throughout the kingdom. 



