BIRDS OF THE WOODLANDS 6i 



Continent is erratic, and two or three occurrences 

 only are recorded for this country. 



The Yellow-browed Warbler is also an extremely 

 rare bird, a few^ isolated appearances only having 

 been noted for the three kingdoms. It is little known 

 on the Continent, although Gatke states that it 

 occurs in small numbers annually on migration in 

 Heligoland. In appearance it has much of the char- 

 acter of the Golden-crested W^ren, the distinguish- 

 ing golden-orange head-band of the latter being 

 replaced by a light lemon-coloured streak above the 

 eye. The nesting site and eggs of this species Avere 

 first discovered by Mr. W. E. Brooke near Gul- 

 merg in Cashmere, in the spring of 187 1. 



The Nightingale is a true summer visitor, the 

 males reaching England about the middle of April, 

 ten days before the arrival of the females, and 

 departing in September. In plumage it is not con- 

 spicuous. The upper surfaces are of a uniform 

 brown, and the throat is a greyish-white which 

 grows darker on the breast. Its length is about six 

 and a quarter inches. 



The nest is built in a hedge or in thick under- 

 wood, and in England is placed in the lowest 

 branches or in the tangled grass beneath. In 

 Spain, Saunders states that he has found it in 

 cypress and myrtle trees, fully five feet from the 

 ground. It is loosely constructed of dead leaves and 

 coarse grass lined with root fibres. The eggs are 

 from four to six in number and are of a deep olive- 

 brow^n. If, to use Tennyson's thought, " the music 



