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ON THE NESTING OF THE MARSH-WARBLER 

 IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 



BY 



willia:\i farrex. 



One of the early records of the nesting of the Marsh- 

 Warbler {Acrocephcdus palustris) in this country may be 

 found in Howard Saunders' Manual, and reads as 

 follows : — " The late Mr. F. Bond had a genuine nest 

 and eggs of this species, A\hicli he took some years ago 

 in Cambridgeshire, but the pair of birds which he obtained 

 at the same time and place are simply Reed-Warblers." 

 I cannot say that I have devoted much time to serious 

 search for the Marsh- W^arbler, yet in consequence of the 

 above record I have always hoped to find the species 

 nesting in Cambridgeshire. 



On June 14th, 1909, an undergraduate of Trinity 

 College brought me news of his having that day found a 

 nest of the Marsh- Warbler in a rough willow-copse near 

 the river. It contained four typical eggs and one of a 

 Cuckoo, Avhich latter he had taken. He was well 

 acquainted with the species, having found it nesting near 

 Windsor. Unfortunately he was leaving Cambridge 

 the next day, and so could not take me to the locality. 

 However, he furnished me with ample direction as to 

 the whereabouts of the willoAV-copse, which I found with 

 but little trouble, but his directions as to the nest were 

 less adequate, or I blundered, for in spite of a most 

 thorough search I failed to discover it. Of the birds 

 there was no doubt, and in spite of my terribly bad ear 

 for distinguishing closely allied bird-notes, I was at once 

 able to pick out the song of the male from the chattering 

 chorus of Reed- and Sedge- Warblers. I will at once 

 confess to an honest doubt whether I should have done 

 so without the knowledge that the Marsh- Warbler was 

 there ! Both male and female kept near to the spot 



