CITATS A.XJJ irAliliLERS. 99 



THE REED WAEBLER, 



{^Sylvia aninditiaaa.) 



PLATE VI. FIGUKK VU. 



Like the otlier Warblers wo have been describing, this bird fre- 

 quents swampy districts bordering on lakes and i-ivers, and overgrown 

 with aquatic plants, hence its scientific name arundinacea, of or 

 appertaining to reeds. It seems to have been first noticed in England 

 by the Rev. John Lightfoot, whose account of its appearance and 

 habits was read before the Royal Society, and printed in their volume 

 of Transactions for the year 1785. Although somewhat locally dis- 

 tributed, it has been seen in the counties of Essex, Kent, Sui-rey, 

 Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Staff"ordshire, Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire. 

 A few specimens have been taken in Devonshire, but it is there 

 considered rare. In Ireland it is recorded that one was shot by 

 Robert Montgomery, Esq., of the Manor House, Raheny, near Dublin, 

 on the 21st. of December, 1843, and another was observed near 

 Belfast, but it has never been noticed in Scotland. This bird frequents 

 Germany and France, is abundant in the marshes of Holland, and, 

 according to Professor Savi, is often met with in Italy from spring 

 to October. 



The Reed Warbler, also called the Marsh Reedling and Reed Wren, 

 is sometimes mistaken for the Sedge Warbler last described, which 

 it resembles in size, habits, and the localities it frequents. It may, 

 however, be readily distinguished by its longer bill, the uniform tint 

 of the upper parts, and the absence of the light band over its eye. 

 Its song, which is varied and pleasing, is often performed at night, 

 and has obtained for it the name of the Night Warbler in some 

 localities. The note of a bird, in any situation, heard in the stillness 

 of the night, when all around is dark and dismal, has a most pleasing 

 effect; but to the traveller on the deserted roads and paths that skirt 

 the edges of rivers, where the only sound that breaks upon the ear, is 

 the rustle of the reeds or the gurgle of the stream, the suddenly 



