I02 The Wood-Warbler. 



they must have seen other birds eating it : consequent!}' they soon sickened and 

 died : since then I have not attempted to catch any others. 



There is no doubt that, in order to get these little birds to eat the soft food, 

 the best plan would be to cage them up at first, giving them two food pans, one 

 half filled with small mealworms and filled up with the food, so that it would be 

 impossible for them to eat the living food without tasting the other ; the second 

 pan with soft food onl}^ which they would be certain to peck over in search for 

 more insect larvse. The only alternative, and a risky and trying one at best, 

 would be to rear your Warblers from the nest ; but then, in all probability, they 

 would never sing. 



Family— TURDID.-E. Subfamily— SYL I IIN^. 



The Wood-Warbler. 



Phyllo^copus sihilatrix, BechsT. 



AS regards the geographical distribution of this species on the Continent, I 

 cannot do better than quote Howard Saunders : — " The Wood- Wren has 

 not yet been proved to visit Norway, but it is found in Sweden as far 

 North as Upsala; while it is very common in the Baltic Provinces, rarer in South 

 Finland, and a straggler to Archangel. Eastward it can be traced to Kazan, the 

 lower valle}' of the Volga, the Caucasus, and the western shore of the Caspian. 

 In Palestiue, Asia Minor and Greece, it occurs on migration ; but it breeds in 

 Turkey, Transylvania, and Europe generally, although rarel}' in the extreme 

 south ; while in Portugal the bird seems to be almost unknown. It appears 

 probable that a few remain during the summer in the mountain forests of the 

 Atlas ; the winter migrations extending to the Gold Coast on the west side of 

 Africa, and to Abyssinia on the east." 



In England it is generally distributed, breeding in many suitable localities ; 

 it is very local in Scotland, but in Ireland it is absolutely rare. 



