THE REED WARBLER 
be judged, in which a Reed Warbler never by any chance is 
seen. ‘The vivid green spears of the reeds are showing 
well above the brown, rotten growth of the preceding 
year and vegetation by the waterside is becoming full 
and generous before the Reed Warbler appears at the end 
of April or the beginning of May. Already hosts of 
summer migrants are filling the woods and fields with 
music before the first strains of the Reed-bird’s chattering 
melody issue from the greenery of the waterside. Once 
here, however, he is a persistent songster indeed, and his 
voice day and night is a pleasing feature of his haunt. 
The song in parts is harsh and grating enough, but there 
are interludes of singular power and sweetness ; he mars 
his best endeavour by introducing jarring fragments that 
seem to interpret defiance and anger rather than joy. 
It is a song of wild contrasts, varied in the extreme, and 
occasionally sounds as if the performer were threading the 
notes of half a dozen other birds into his own refrain. 
The Reed-birds are shy enough, or perhaps we ought 
rather to say that they prefer the cool, green seclusion of 
the rustling reeds to the sweltering sunlight of the outer 
growth. Here more likely than not a trembling stem 
or a harsh’ churr are the only signs of their presence ; 
but at fitful intervals a glimpse is obtained of a bird 
crossing the more open waterways amongst the reeds 
and osiers, or clinging to a bending stem, to drop down 
again at once into cover. Now and then you may be 
fortunate enough to see a bird flitting to and fro or run- 
ning mouse-like up the round, polished stalks of the reeds, 
singing all the time. The song is most prevalent in 
calm, warm weather ; rough wind and a c6ol atmosphere 
are not conducive to music. ‘They are quarrelsome little 
creatures, resent intrusion, and each pair appear to have 
vested rights in some particular spot, from which they 
seek to drive off all trespassers. Pairing begins soon after 
their arrival, and the eggs are laid in May or early June, 
E 65 
