The Oologisfs' Record, December i, 192 1. 83 



edges or centre of a grove, or amongst the top or lower branches 

 of the trees. In orange trees the nests are well hidden, and in the 

 other sites are by no means conspicuous, on account of their small 

 size, and owing to the fact that the outside of the nests always have 

 a greenish appearance, due to the dried plant and flower stems used 

 as building materials, and which assimilate to a certain extent with 

 the foliage of the trees. The nests retain this greenish or greyish- 

 green appearance for many weeks, until some time after the young 

 have flown ; they then have a brown, withered look, and may 

 almost be mistaken for a very compact and solid type of nest of 

 Hippolais pallida elaica. Nests are usually small, very neat, 

 compact and solid, almost invariably decorated outside with dry 

 flower and aromatic plant stems, while the egg-cup is a thick mass 

 of soft plant wool and vegetable down beautifully interwoven ; 

 and there are frequently fine grasses, fine rootlets, or a few horse, 

 hairs mixed up with the lining just inside the lip of the cup. Of 

 course there are exceptions, and a certain number of nests are flimsy, 

 untidy, and rather flat. One curious fact I have noticed about this 

 bird on several occasions is, that the eggs are sometimes concealed 

 at the bottom of the nest beneath a thick layer of the soft lining, 

 and, unless one knew this trick or had actually put a sitting bird 

 off the nest, one would be liable to miss the eggs altogether. These 

 birds when on their nests sit very tight, and do not fly off until the 

 intruder is right up to the nest. They are then nearly always at 

 once joined by their mates, and remain very close at hand, keeping 

 up a tremulous twittering until the intruder has left. 



The internal measurements of a few nests, in inches, are noted : — 



Eggs may be found from the end of March until about the end 

 of July, and possibly even in August ; but I think the latter half 

 of April and the month of May constitute their real breeding season, 

 though nests with eggs are quite common in June as well as in the 

 early half of July. In 1920 the first nest I found was on the 13th 

 April, and it contained two bad eggs and two young birds which 

 had been hatched out three or four days. 



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