186 BRITISH BIRDS. 



wild bh-ds. The hybrid is a hen and had eggs well developed, 

 and shows no sign of captivity. 



I have to record my thanks to Dr. R. B. Sharpe and Mr. 

 W. R. Ogilvie-G-rant for kindly identifying these birds for me. 



J. B. JSTlCHOLS. 



MAESH-WARBLER NESTING IN SURREY. 



On the 14th of June last I quite unexpectedly discovered the 

 Marsh- Warbler (Acrocephalus pahcstris) breeding at Thorpe, in 

 Surrey, in which county it has not previously been I'ecorded as 

 nesting. Until three years ago 1 lived quite close to the spot 

 where I found the nest, and certainly up to that time the bird 

 had never occurred in the neighbourhood. I am afraid that the 

 birds will not become established, as already part of the plantation 

 they frequent has been cleared. The nest was placed in the 

 fork of a small osier, well hidden among a mass of tall 

 grass, nettles, and other rank herbage, and was about 

 three feet from the ground. The osier-bed faces on the river, 

 but the nest was some distance back from the stream, and on 

 quite dry ground. Reed- and Sedge-Warblers were breeding on 

 the same spot. I discovered the nest by hearing the bird slip 

 away in the undergrowth, and, although I waited a long while, 

 she did not return, nor Avas the male seen anywhere in the 

 vicinity. The nest, which contained four bold and finely marked 

 eggs, was made entirely of gi-asses, finer grass being used for 

 the lining. It seemed to be more substantially built than the 

 nests of the Reed -Warblers found in the same place. On the 

 25th June I again visited the osier bed. and found a fresh nest 

 placed about two and a half feet from the ground in a clump of 

 tall grass, four or five stems being woven into the sides, and, 

 as in the first case, it was composed entirely of grasses and 

 contained four eggs. On the 13th July Mr. Mouritz accompanied 

 me to the plantation, but, unfortunately, the second nest seemed 

 to have been disturbed, and we could find no trace of the birds 

 anywhere in the neighbourhood. G-raham W. Kerr. 



THE TONGUE-SPOTS OF THE NESTLING 

 GRASSHOPPER- WARBLER. 



With reference to Mr. W. P. Pycraft's article on the colouring 

 of the inside of the mouth of nestling birds, I have noticed tha.t 

 the nestlings of the Grasshopper- Warbler (Locustella nnevia) 

 have three distinct dark-coloured spots placed at right angles 

 to each other on the base of the tongue. J. S. T. Walton. 



[Notes like this by Mr. Walton will, we hope, frequently 

 appear in these columns, for the number of such recoi'ds is 

 astonishingly small. — Eds.] 



