224 SYLVIAD.E. 



not met Avith any notice of it as a visiter to Orkney or Shet- 

 land. 



In tliis country it is resident throughout the year, fre- 

 quenting liedge-rows, gardens, and pleasure-grounds, from 

 spring to autumn, where it feeds indiscriminately on insects 

 in their various stages, worms, and seeds, but not on fruit ; 

 drawing nearer to the habitations of men as winter ap- 

 proaches, to gain such scanty subsistence as chance or kind- 

 ness may afford ; and Gilbert White of Selborne remarks, 

 that it is a frequenter of gutters and drains in hard weather, 

 where crumbs and other sweepings may be picked up. It is 

 more frequently seen on the ground than elsewhere, is unob- 

 trusive and harmless, and deserves protection and support. 



Early in February the male may be heard singing his 

 short and plaintive song ; but the voice of this little fa- 

 vourite, though sweet in tone, is deficient in variety as well 

 as in poAver : yet his song may still be heard throughout the 

 greater part of the year, if Ave except a short period in Au- 

 gust when undergoing his annual moult. Mr. Knapp has 

 observed that Hedge Warblers are almost ahvays seen in 

 pairs, feeding and moving in company Avith each other, and 

 may truly, in a double sense, be considered domestic birds. 

 Their nest, built of green moss, roots and wool, and lined 

 Avith hair, is usually placed rather Ioav down in a thick bush 

 or hedge-roAv, and is generally finished early in March. As 

 observed in the Journal of a Naturalist, "it is nearly the 

 first bird that forms a nest ; and this being placed in an al- 

 most leafless hedge, Avitli little art displayed in its conceal- 

 ment, generally becomes the booty of every prying boy ; and 

 the blue eggs of the Hedge Warbler are always found in 

 such numbers on his string, that it is surprising hoAV any of 

 the race are remaining, especially when Ave consider the many 

 casualties to Avhich the old birds are exposed from their tame- 

 ncss, and the young that are hatched from their situation.'" 



