140 CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 



hedges, coarse herbage, furze bush, etc. ; five eggs 

 are laid of a greenish-white blotched with grey and 

 brown. One brood is reared. 



Howard Saunders says : " This species breeds 

 southwards throughout Europe down to the Medi- 

 terranean, etc., also the Canaries and Northern Africa 

 are frequented in winter." Again, " Eastward it 

 breeds in Turkestan and South-Western Siberia, 

 wintering in Egypt, Abyssinia, and Arabia." 



The specimens in the case were, I think, shot in 

 Radnorshire, if not there, in the county of Surrey. 



The Chiffchaff. 



Family, Turdidce. 



This small bird is a very plucky little chap indeed, 

 for he braves the rigour of our English climate before 

 many other migrants, being one of the first to arrive, 

 about the middle of March. My experience in 

 regard to distribution over our islands is, that Chiff- 

 chaffs are nearly everywhere, conveying to my mind 

 that they come in flocks of countless thousands. 

 They can't sing one little bit, but they seem to be 

 quite satisfied with their performance, repeating over 

 and over again the same string of notes. They 

 always seem very contented happy birds, feeding on 

 insects and larvae which they obtain on the trunks 

 and branches of trees, and singing when not eating. 

 This songf, too, unlike most of the other warblers, is 

 continued through the summer. 



