Passeres 31 



whitish eggs with yellowish brown spots may correspond 

 exactly. It is generally ])ossible to make a correct 

 guess at the nest, which in the Garden Warbler is less 

 flimsy and better lined with hair, but the very green 

 variety of its eggs and the rare red variety of those of 

 the Blackcap can alone be guaranteed without a sight 

 of the parent. All the Warblers so far mentioned arrive 

 about April and leave us in September, but the Common 

 Whitethroat is the earliest and the Garden Warbler the 

 latest. The Blackcap and Garden Warblers both range 

 in Britain up to mid-Scotland, and the former a little 

 further north ; they vary in abundance locally, but 

 agree in being scarce in Ireland. They breed over 

 Europe, except the more Arctic portions, and in north- 

 west Africa, but the eastern limits in Asia seem to lie 

 in w^estern Siberia, and only the Blackcap nests in the 

 Atlantic islands. 



The Dartford Warbler {Melizophilus undatus) is a 

 jolly little dark grey bird with chestnut breast, which 

 is usually seen flitting restlessly about the gorse bushes 

 or tall heather ; it is now scarcer with us than formerly, 

 and is confined to East Anglia, Shropshire, and the 

 south of England. Abroad it occurs in north-west 

 France and in barely separable forms to Italy, Morocco, 

 and Algeria. Though skulking at other times this local 

 resident is often bold enough in the breeding season, 

 when the cock utters his scolding notes from a spray 

 just ahead of the intruder, and shifts his quarters 

 but slightly when disturbed. The nest and eggs much 

 resemble those of the Whitethroat, but the latter are 

 somewhat longer with more olive or even reddish 

 markings. The site of the nest is in a gorse bush or 

 heather clump, while in winter the birds move from place 



