Birds of Britain 



means shy, though he usually keeps to the low-growing 

 alders, willows, or whatever other cover there may be, and 

 should we come so close as to disturb him from his shelter, 

 he merely flies on a few yards and recommences his song 

 with redoubled energy. Although rather local in dis- 

 tribution, he is not rare, but is never found except near 

 water, although that water may be only a horsepond 

 surrounded with hawthorn bushes. About the beginning of 

 May, having selected his mate and decided on a spot suitable 

 for a home, family cares will be commenced, and the nest, 

 placed within a foot or two of the ground and well concealed, 

 will be begun. The nest is formed of grass and bents, 

 loosely woven together and lined with finer materials and, 

 occasionally, a few feathers. The eggs, four to six in 

 number, are uniform pale clay brown, sometimes showing 

 mottlings of a darker shade and having a dark hair streak 

 towards the larger end. The young are fed on insects, 

 which form also the chief diet of the parents, though 

 berries are eaten in the season. 



Two broods are often reared, and at the end of summer 

 young and old pass away to the tropics. The sexes are 

 alike in plumage, but the female is slightly duller. The 

 upper parts are tawny brown, becoming brighter on the 

 rump and upper tail coverts ; the crown is broadly streaked 

 with black, and edged on each side with a broad yellowish- 

 white superciliary stripe. Chin and throat white, breast 

 and under parts buff. Length 5 in. ; wing 2*5 in. The 

 young are slightly spotted with brown on the throat. 



Generally distributed throughout Great Britain, becoming 

 rarer in the north. 



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