IJVLLOW WREN. 103 



from spray to spray near the cleverly-concealed nest, not 

 venturing to visit it until all fear is allayed. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Willow Wren are from four to seven or 

 even eight in number. They range from white to white 

 tinged with yellow in ground colour, blotched, spotted, 

 and freckled with pale brownish-red or reddish-brown. 

 The markings are frequently distributed over most of 

 the surface of the shell, occasionally most numerous on 

 the larger end, and forming a zone or circular, semi- 

 confluent patch. The amount of spotting varies con- 

 siderably. Average measurement, '62 inch in length, by 

 •47 inch in breadth. Incubation, performed by both 

 sexes, lasts from thirteen to fourteen days. 



Diagnostic characters : The pale reddish-brown 

 or brownish-red markings, combined with the locality 

 and formation of the nest, serve to distinguish the eggs 

 of the Willow Wren, and to render their identification 

 easy. 



Family TURDID/E. Genus Phylloscopus. 



Sub-family SYLVIIN^. 



WOOD WREN. . 



Phylloscopus sibilatrix {Bechsfein). 



Single Brooded. Laying season. May and June. 



British breeding area : The Wood Wren is by 

 far the rarest and most local of the three British Willow 

 Warblers. It is more or less thinly dispersed through- 

 out suitable districts in England and Wales ; and 



