Family SYLVIIDAE. 



Acrocephalus arundinaceus (L.) — Great 

 Reed-Warbler. 



(Plate 61, fig. a— c). 

 (Snouckaert: Avifauna Neerlandica, p. 41, N°. 96). 



Colour of surface of shell 



Colour of spots: 



Average dimensions: 

 Average weight of shell : 

 Texture of shell: 

 Shape : 

 Nest: 



Site of nest: 



Number of eggs: 

 Breeding season: 

 Duration of incubation 



light blue; bluish white; greenish; sometimes 

 tinted brownish yellow. x ) 



dark brown; when lying deeper they appear 

 to be of a greyish or olive brown colour. 



22.45 X 16.15 millimetres. 



0.177 gram. 



not specially characterized. 



usually oblong ovoidal. 



is built of vegetable materials, chiefly of 

 stems and blades of graminaceous plants; 

 the materials used for the lining sometimes 

 also include horsehair and feathers. 



about 1 Metre from the water in dense reed 

 vegetation, fixed to a few stems of that 

 plant. 



4—5, rarely 6. 



June-July. 



About 14 days. 



x ) See: Eggs of the Birds of Europe, by H. E. Dresser (London, 1905-'ll), 

 Plate 10, fig. 44. 



