86 THE NATURALIST. 



before the females. In this neighbourhood, (York,) but more particularly 

 in the neighbourhood of Kirby-Moorside, Yorkshire, they are common, and 

 add very much to the pleasure of a walk by their pleasant chirp, (for this 

 bird is White's chirper) and the mode in which they fly into the hedges and 

 bank sides. The motions of birds are, to the eyes of the true lover of 

 nature, as grateful as their songs are to his ears. The nest is a domed 

 one, and is°built on the ground amongst grass. I found one this season 

 when fishing in the Hyle ; it was on the crown of the bank, and close 

 under the largest branch of a fallen willow. The materials are grass, 

 bents, moss, and occasionally leaves, and the lining is hair. The eggs, 

 which are six in number, are white, spotted and speckled with plum-red. 

 This little bird is sometimes called the Yellow Wren, and is frequently 

 confounded with the Willow Wren by careless observers ; why it should 

 be called either the wood warbler or wood wren I could never understand ; 

 because it is not, here at least, a wood bird. I have found scores of nests, 

 and have most frequently found them on bank sides ; and they seem to 

 me to prefer the neighbourhood of willows, the dead leaves of which 

 frequently enter into the composition of their nests. They are very tame, 

 and when they visit my garden in quest of currants, or to enjoy a sly 

 nibble at my cherries, they will hop on to the branches and peck away 

 within a yard of me, and I have known them sit on their eggs until they 

 were lifted off. I should as soon think of killing a Robin as either a 

 Wood Wren or a Yellow Wren, and never could find in my heart to deny 

 to these innocent and loving birds a bunch of currants or a cherry. 



The Willow Wren (Sylvia trocliilus.) This is a very lively bird, 

 and is known by a great variety of names to rustic naturalists. About 

 Kirby-Moorside it is called " Mealy Mouth ; " it is known in other parts 

 of Yorkshire as the " Hay-bird," and is also called the " Ground Wren," 

 '' Meadow Wren," " Yellow Wren," and " Scotch Wren." It is a much 

 better known bird than the Wood Wren, and the nest is much oftener 

 found, being generally placed in tufts in cow pastures. During hay 

 harvest the nests are frequently found in meadows and by bank sides. 

 The old ones and the young of the first brood may be seen hunting for 

 insects upon the newly mown grass; at such times it is in incessant 

 motion, catching insects on the wing. It is an early visitor to this 

 country, generally appearing in April, when its song may be heard in the 

 fields and its favourite haunts. The song of tlie Willow Wren is very 

 pleasant, and has been pronounced by competent judges to be '* soft and 



