l68 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



The nest is a neat and not " flimsy " structure well hidden in. 

 gorse or heather (Plate 71) ; Mr. H. Bentham, who has studied 

 the species, finds more in heather than furze. It is composed 

 of young furze shoots, galium stems, ling, moss, grass, wool and 

 feathers, lined with finer bents, feathers and hair. The foij;- to 

 five eggs (Plate 65) are usually yellowish or greenish white 

 speckled with underlying grey and more decided brownish 

 markings, often taking the form of a zone. There are two 

 broods, the first eggs are laid in April and the second batch, 

 as a rule, in June or July. 



In summer the male has dark brown upper parts, shading to 

 slate-grey on the head, and the brown wings are shown up by 

 paler edgings on the secondaries ; the two outer tail feathers 

 have white margins and tips, conspicuous when the tail is fanned 

 out. The under parts are rufous-chestnut. The bill is pale 

 brown, lightest at the base ; the legs are light brown ; the irides, 

 and a ring round the eye, reddish orange. In autumn the under 

 parts, especially on the thioat, are streaked with white. The 

 female is browner above, and paler beneath, and lacks the ruddy 

 tints. The young are much whiter on the under parts, and their 

 irides are pale reddish brown. Length, 5*1 ins. Wing, 2*2 ins. 

 Tarsus, 75 in. 



Rufous Warbler. Agrohates galactodes (Temm.). 



The Rufous Warbler, a very rare wanderer to England and 

 Ireland on autumn migration, breeds in southern Spain and 

 Portugal and northern Africa. It is a large chestnut-brown 

 warbler with pale under parts, a white stripe above the eye and 

 a buff bar on the wing. Its best character is its long rounded 

 tail, rich chestnut in colour, and with all but the central 

 feathers with a subterminal black band and tipped with white, 

 the amount of white increasing from the inner to the outer 

 feathers. The form, known as the Grey-backed Warbler, 



