THE WILLOW WARBLER 53 



have seen many nests placed amongst the tall 

 meadow grass of the hay-fields ; whilst the shelter 

 of a low bush or a cluster of briars, tangled grass 

 and brambles is not unfrequently selected. Very 

 rarely it is placed above the ground, amongst ivy 

 or the suckers growing at the foot of a tree. In 

 shape the nest is semi-domed, or perhaps a better 

 description of it is that of a moderately deep narrow 

 nest placed on its side. It is more open than that 

 of the Chiffchaff, and is somewhat loosely put 

 together, outwardly made of dry grass, leaves, roots, 

 and scraps of moss, and copiously lined with feathers 

 and a little hair. We have counted as many as 

 two hundred feathers in the lining of a single nest. 

 The parent birds are very wary in conveying the 

 materials, and may often be watched for a long 

 time with a feather in their bill hopping restlessly 

 about, tiring out all but the most persistent patience. 

 The eggs range from four or five to as many as 

 eight, and are generally pure white in ground-colour, 

 blotched and freckled with pale reddish-brown. 

 But one brood appears to be reared in the year, and 

 the eggs for this are laid even as early as the end 

 of April or as late as June. 



The food of the Willow Warbler from the bird's 

 arrival until July is principally composed of insects 

 and larvse, but in the later summer months when the 

 fruit is ripe this species subsists largely upon that pro- 

 duct of the garden. The return migration of this 



