434 SYLVIID.E. 



on the treasured contents of its nest, its behaviour becomes 

 indeed touching, and it will readily run into almost any 

 danger to divert man or dog from its fondly-loved offspring, 

 while if this be futile it will pursue the spoiler for a long 

 way with its plaintive cry. The nest is large for the size 

 of the bird, placed on the ground*, most commonly against 

 a bank among long grass or weeds, but often at the foot of 

 a bush, and, like that of the Wood- Wren, is covered with a 

 dome having a rather wide hole in the side — whence this 

 species and its congeners are called in many parts of the 

 country " Oven-birds." The fabric is usually of dry grass 

 mixed with moss, but sometimes of dry fern ; the bottom, 

 however, is always lined with feathers, which in many 

 cases must have been brought from a considerable distance. 

 The eggs are six or seven in number, of a transparent 

 white, commonly blotched, spotted or speckled with light 

 red — the markings being sometimes small and thick, at 

 others large and sparsely diffused ; but Mr. Henry Doubleday 

 tells me he has seen the eggs of this bird of a pure, un- 

 spotted white. They measure from '66 to '56 by from '49 

 to '44 in. The food of this species is Ai^h'ides, flies, and 

 insects generally in the different stages. It does not eat 

 fruit ; and when seen in a garden should be allowed to 

 remain unmolested as one of the gardener's best friends, 

 from the number of insects it consumes daily. 



The young are hatched towards the end of May, and there 

 is often a second brood later in the season. In August both 

 old and 5'oung become scarce, and the emigration from this 

 country is generally accomplished by the middle of Septem- 

 ber. Mr. Jeftrey, however, states (Zool. s. s. p. 166) that 

 he has observed the species in Sussex in winter. 



The Willow- Wren is plentiful almost all over the British 

 Islands, but is certainly less numerous in the western coun- 

 ties of England than in the eastern. Montagu says that in 

 his time it was rarely met with in Cornwall, but Mr. Eodd 



* Mr. Alston, however, mentions (Zool. s. s. p. 512) having seen a nest in 

 hole in a wall nearly seven feet from the ground. 



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