VOL. VII.] THE DARTFORD WARBLER. 215 



intervals of a minute to a minute and a half, and the 

 birds are silent and apparently quite indifferent to being 

 watched. If, however, a nest containing young birds 

 or highly incubated eggs is approached, both old birds 

 become very noisy and demonstrative. On one occasion 

 I saw a female leave a nest containing young and drop 

 on to a path with outspread wings and tail in an 

 endeavour to draw us away. This habit has already 

 been recorded by Mr. Howard Bentham (Vol. III., 

 p. 186), and is of course common in other birds. Should 

 the clutch of eggs be incomplete or incubation not have 

 commenced, the birds are very silent and often not in 

 evidence at all, the female slipping off the nest without 

 making an alarm-note. The general behaviour at the 

 nest is characteristic of many other species under similar 

 conditions, and the same remark appKes to the habit 

 of soaring upwards for a few yards and sometimes 

 hovering for a second or two before dropping, like a 

 stone, on or into the furze or ling. 



I consider that Dartford Warblers are stronger on 

 the wing and take longer flights than is generally 

 supposed, and on several occasions I have seen them 

 fly several hundred yards right across a valley. 



The breeding-season is very erratic and depends to a 

 great extent on climatic conditions. In 1913 they Avere 

 earher than usual, fully-fledged young being found on 

 May 3rd, and fresh eggs as late as June 21st (possibly 

 a second laying). May is apparently the favourite 

 month. The nest is comparatively easy to locate when 

 once the bird has been marked down, indiscriminate 

 searching being practically useless, though I have three 

 times flushed a bird from the nest quite unexpectedly. 

 There is no very serious attempt at concealment in 

 most cases, especially when the nest is hi ling, though 

 it is not always possible to see it from directly above, 

 but when placed in furze it is not so easily detected. 

 When in ling, for which the birds show a distinct 

 preference, the nest is from 6 in. to IJ ft. from the 



