56 



Bnilsh Birds 



The Dartford Warbler. 



vinous chestnut, with 

 the abdomen white. It 

 is an inhabitant of 

 heath-land, nesting in 

 the furze districts of the 

 South of England, ex- 

 tending, so it is said, 

 into the Midlands. Its 

 Continental home is 

 confined to Western 

 Europe, viz., France, 

 Spain, and Italy, nest- 

 ing on the mountains 

 in South-wester n 

 Europe, and descending 



to the low country in winter. 



The note of the Dartford \\'arbler resembles the syllables pit-il-chou, and the 

 French name for the species is Pitchon. Like other Warblers, it has a harsh scolding 

 note when disturbed or when its nest is approached. 

 In the districts which it frequents it is always very 

 shy and skulking in its habits, but the male is some- 

 times to be seen on the top of a furze-bush for a 

 second or two, whence it takes its flight to another, 

 onlv pausing occasionalh' to utter a little song from 

 the top of the bush. The nest is rather neatly 

 constructed and deep, made of fine grass- stems, 

 with a little moss and wool, and scantily lined with 

 horsehair. The eggs are from four to five m number. 

 They are greenish-white, with numerous spots of 

 greenish-brown and grey sprinkled all over the 



The RiiFoi's Warbler {Aedoii galactodes). 

 This Mediterranean species is found in Spain and 

 North Africa, and has occurred three times in 

 England, once near I-irighton, and twice in 

 Devonshire. It is uniform cinnamon-rufous 

 in colour above : the outer tail-feathers broadly 

 tipped with white, and before this white tip is 

 a broad band of black. There is a distinct 

 eyebrow of a creamy-buff colour, and a faint 

 moustache of dusky brown. The under surface 



The Great Reed-Warbler (p. 63) 

 The Rui ous Warbler. 



