Perching Birds. 



THE GREAT 



REED-WARBLER. 



[Acroci'phalns 



tiirdoidfs.) 



of an olive-brown or stone-grey tint, being entirel_v clouded witli specks of these 



colours, which liide the greenish-white ground-colour of the egg; there is nearly 



always a blackish line near the larger end of the egg. 



The Sedge-Warbler has a powerful but not musical song, which is heard from the 



depths of its retreat in the rushes or bushes, especially in the evening, and a stone 



thrown into its sleeping haunts, even after darkness has set in, will cause it to babble. 



The large size of this species easilv distinguishes it from 

 all the other British species of river Warblers, as it is more 

 than seven inches in length. The general colour of the 

 plumage is brown, a little more rufescent on the lower back 

 and rump ; the sides of the face are greyish and there is a 



distinct white eyebrow. The under surface is white, with a tinge of tawny-buft" on 



the breast and sides of the bod}', and the under wing-coverts, axillaries, and lining of 



the quills are of a pronounced tawny-buff colour. Young birds and adults killed in 



autumn and winter are decidedl}' more buff below. To Great Britain the species is 



only a rare and occasional visitor, but throughout the greater part of Kurope, 



excepting the north, the Great Reed-Warbler breeds plentifully in the marshes, as 



far east as Turkestan, and it winters in 



Africa, having been procured on the upper 



Congo and as far south as the Transvaal. 



The song is harsh but powerful, and like 



other species of the genus, the male bird 



often ascends to the top of a reed, singing 



lustil}' as it climbs up. The nest is a 



compactly made structure, suspended 



between reeds, and is a round and deep 



cup formed of dead reeds with a little moss 



or leaves of water-plants intermingled, and 



lined inside with grass-stems and the 



flowers of the reed. The eggs are from 



four to six in number, greenish-blue or 



greenish-white in colour, blotched 



and spotted with greenish or reddish- 

 brown, generally collecting near the 



larger end of the egg. 



This Warbler, often 

 called theReed-'VVren,' 

 is a sober coloured 

 little brown bird, which 

 visits the southern and 



central portions of luigland in summer, -Ihk Rked-Wakhi.ek. 



THE 



RKED-WARBLER. 



{Acrocephahis 



strcpcrus. ) 



