1^0 Legge, Loca/ioii of Birds in the Vicinity of [,st^"ja„. 



to the cause for this curious feature, the most plausible seem to 

 relate to its being a nesting place for one or both of the old birds, 

 or for the young after being fledged ; or, again, that its object is 

 to mislead the enemies of this species as to the whereabouts of the 

 real nest. Personally the writer inclines to the last-named 

 theory, the habit having been evolved through long duration of 

 time, like so many other protective efforts which one meets in the 

 study of natural history. If this hypothesis be correct, however, 

 the work of the little birds does not seem to be successful, as one 

 finds the eggs of Cuckoos deposited in the real nest, which is 

 chosen by the Bronze-Cuckoos sometimes where this species is 

 plentiful. As regards the false nest being a shelter for the young 

 birds, I have not found traces of their presence in it, as the 

 droppings would reveal this at once. More careful observation 

 would, no doubt, settle this point conclusively. 



The decayed leaves and stems of the " Yorkshire "-fog grass 

 are often used in the structure of the body of the nest of this and 

 the last species, and wool as well as feathers for the lining. 



Calamanthus FULIGINOSUS (Field-Wren, Bush Warbler ; 

 " Stink-Bird " of sportsmen). 



This sprightly bird is the earliest harbinger of spring in our hill 

 district, and though it breeds with us in August it is still earlier 

 along the coast. Its little song, which is heard especially in the 

 evening while winter is yet upon us, makes one look upon it as the 

 "harbinger" of the joyous time when the denizens of "field and 

 forest " are busy mating and nesting. There is no bird in 

 this island which has such homelike notes as those which this 

 little frequenter of rushes, saggs {Xerotes longi folia), and patchy 

 undergrowth in the open, pours forth in the chilly month of 

 August as it perches on the topmost twig of a leafless briar, the 

 post of a fence, or any prominent branch of broom or gorse 

 from which it desires to captivate its quiet-plumaged little mate. 

 In so doing it suddenly emerges from vegetation near the ground, 

 its normal resort, and, mounting as high in the shrub as it can get, 

 begins at once its sweet little warble, which recalls in some of 

 its clear though gentle notes the voice of the Lark and also the 

 Yellow-Hammer of our English fields. It is fond of thus calling 

 to its mate just before sunset when the breeding instinct first 

 pervades it ; but later on, in September, it may be heard during 

 the morning and afternoon trilling its nuptial song to its partner 

 as she sits on her well-concealed nest. 



In regard to the alteration of habits consequent on the colonisa- 

 tion of the country already alluded to, the case of the Calamanthus 

 is perhaps more interesting than that of any other bird. In 

 primeval days this " Wren " affected only the natural tussocky 

 vegetation and patchy, ferny undergrowth t}'pical of what we 

 call " open bush." Much of this has disappeared through 



