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This it repeats all through the summer and well into the autumn. 
We know, too, by this welcome sound, that the spring is fast 
ripening into summer, and that the season of sunshine and flowers, 
and all things bright and beautiful, will soon be here again. You may 
hear it in Wetheral and Corby woods, and at Kingmoor, Newbiggin, 
and Gelt, although it is not so widely distributed as its cousin, the 
willow wren. For one nest of the Chiff Chaff in this district, you 
may find a dozen of the willow wren. It commences nesting in 
May, building an oval domed nest, which is composed of coarse 
dry grass externally, lined inside with fine fibre and feathers, and 
is generally placed on or near the ground, in a low bush, or in a 
thick tuft of grass, and often amidst the long and intertwining 
weeds and mingled herbage of a bank. The eggs, six or seven in 
number, are white, speckled at the larger end with purplish red, 
and sometimes speckled nearly all over. It feeds upon insects— 
caterpillars, aphides, and flies; and I have also seen it capture 
insects on the wing, The length of the male is about four inches 
and a half. Bill, dark drown; the edges and base of the lower 
mandible pale yellowish red. There is a pale yellowish brown 
mark over the eye, more or less obscure; and between the eyes 
and the bill the space is grey; a narrow circle of grey surrounds 
the eyes. Head, crown, back of neck, and nape, greenish ash 
colour, or brownish olive, the green almost disappearing in the 
breeding season ; chin, throat, and breast, pale dull yellowish white, 
the yellow colour chiefly in indistinct streaks. Back greenish ash 
colour, or brownish olive, the edges of the feathers paler than the 
remainder. The under surface of the wings is grey; greater and 
lesser wing coverts also greenish ash. The tail, which is rather - 
long, is blackish grey, the feathers bordered with olive green; the _ 
side feathers have whitish edges; upper tail coverts brownish 
white, tinged with yellow. 
WiLLow WREN (Sylvia trochilus ). 
The next bird on my list is the Willow Wren (Sylvia 
trochilus ), locally called in this district when I was a boy, “The 
Miller’s Thumb.” 
a ee ee ee 
Saatoe Z, = 
