PERCHING BIRDS. 81 
is elegant in shape, and the colours of the plumage are 
very pleasing, while its singular tremulous call cannot 
remain unnoticed. 
The Willow Wren (S. trochilus) is much more abun- 
dant than the wood wren, and frequents the alder and 
willow trees growing on the banks of the streams, and 
the hedgerows of the adjacent meadows. The brook 
below the town is bordered here and there by rows of 
dwarf willows and hedges of the same, and here the 
willow warbler is numerous. Often while fly-fishing on 
a summer's evening I have been interested in watching 
their lively and active habits as they climbed and hopped 
about from twig to twig; now searching the river bank, 
now darting out to share with the trout below, the gnats 
that hovered over the water, and again regaining an 
overhanging bough they would thread their way quickly 
into the willow above, prying under every leaf and into 
each crevice for aphides and caterpillars. They do not 
always agree kindly with their fellows, but will chase 
each other in a quarrelsome manner, and occasionally 
direct their puny attacks on other birds, 
The Chiffchaff (S. rufa) haunts the same spots, both 
species being often seen together ; indeed, they are so 
much alike that an ordinary observer would not detect 
the difference, and I believe they are frequently con- 
founded ; but the legs of the chiffchaff are darker than 
those of S. trochilus, and the yellow mark over the eye 
is less distinct. Their nests, too, are placed in similar 
positions, and are formed of like materials, but the eggs 
are very distinct, those of the willow warbler having the 
ground of a pinkish white, closely freckled with light 
rusty brown, while the chiffchaff’s have the ground 
a pure white, and are very sparingly speckled with. 
G 
