64 



THE GAEDEN WARBLER. 



A thickly-wooded dean, with a burn meandering at its 

 bottom, is a favourite resort. It is not easily seen, for it 

 usually conceals itself amongst dense foliage, and on the 

 slightest alarm retires quietly to the thickest part of the 

 covert. 



Its song is mellow and sweet, and not so loud and 

 irregular as that of the Blackcap, next to which it ranks 

 as a songster. The two birds may be easily distinguished, 

 for the Garden Warbler is without the black on the top of 

 the head. It feeds on insects, fruit, and berries of various 

 kinds, such as currants, blackberries, and elder-berries. 



The nest, which is usually placed near the ground amongst 

 brambles or briars, or other low bushes overgrown with 

 herbage, is slightly built of withered grasses, and lined with 

 a little horse-hair. The eggs are very like those of the 

 Blackcap, being generally of a greyish white, slightly spotted 

 with brown, and are usually four or five in number. 



It leaves us in August and September for the south. 





