326 BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 



plantations of conifers are to be found. With the 

 increase of these on the Scottish mainland the species 

 has become more numerous there ; but the outlying islands 

 afford no suitable haunts. This Warbler is notable in 

 being not only a resident but a winter visitor to our 

 islands. In some autumns huge immigratory waves are 

 recorded on our east coasts ; in others the irruptions are 

 smaller or less noticeable. 



Coniferous and other woods, as we have said, are the 

 habitat of this bird. It generally places its nest on the 

 under-side of a branch, but slightly different situations 

 are sometimes used. The typical situation and the almost 

 spherical shape are well seen in the accompanying plate. 

 The materials used are moss, wool, spiders' webs, lichens, 

 and others of a similar nature, while feathers are used 

 for the lining. The five to eight or more eggs are laid 

 early in April, as a rule. They are huffish white, with 

 small reddish-brown specks. 



THE WILLOW=WREN 



(Phylloscopus trochilus). 

 Plate 126. 



Taken all in all, the Willow - Wren is perhaps the 

 commonest and most familiar of British Warblers. It 

 is common even in the north of Scotland, although not 

 in the outlying isles, and there are few smtable parts of 

 our area in which it is not abundant in summer. It is 

 found even in the London parks. It arrives early in 

 April in the south, three or four weeks later in the 

 north, and remains till mid-September. 



The Willow- Wren is the common representative of a 

 well-marked group of small Warblers, the prevailing colour 



