The Dartford Warbler 



little fellow; he seems to have gone to the opposite extreme, 

 and, while his congeners cross large stretches of the earth 

 twice a year, he remains at home practically on the same 

 bush. In habits he is very skulking, hiding in thick furze 

 bushes. He will, when disturbed, take a short flight and 

 then dive down into the thickest part of another shelter, and 

 all we can notice in the short glimpse we get of him, is that 

 he is extremely dark. The common on which he lives, may 

 be many miles in extent, and apparently uniformly covered 

 with furze and rank grass, and yet he will only be found 

 in a special batch of furze perhaps not a hundred yards in 

 length ; there, summer and winter, we may always find a small 

 colony, while on the rest of the common we shall hardly 

 ever see a single individual. In spring he becomes bolder, 

 and we may watch him as he sits on the topmost spray of a 

 bush, flirting his tail and throwing his body and wings into 

 many and varied positions while he rattles forth the hurried 

 medley of notes which serves him for a song. 



The nest, which is placed low down in a furze bush and 

 well concealed, is formed of bents and furze loosely woven 

 together and is lined with horsehair, wool, or finer grass 

 according to the materials at hand. The eggs are whitish, 

 very closely speckled with reddish brown, and two broods 

 are frequently raised in the season. The sexes are alike, 

 and have the upper parts dark slate grey. Tail long and 

 fan-shaped, the two outer pairs of feathers having white 

 margins and tips. Under parts chestnut streaked with 

 white in autumn. Length 5*1 in.; wing 2*2 in. 



It is found only in the South of England and sparingly 

 in Norfolk, Suffolk, and the Midlands. 



49 7 



