74 SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE. 



it is a rare autumn visitor, usually occurring in 

 September. By exercising great caution he has 

 sometimes approached within a few feet of the bird, 

 and watched it picking the green Aphides from the 

 sycamore leaves. In Orkney it seems to have been 

 not hitherto observed. 



In habits the Garden Warbler closely resembles 

 other members of the genus Sylvia. Shy and 

 restless, it differs from the Blackcap in its inferior 

 powers of song, and from the Whitethroats in being 

 less garrulous. It is nevertheless a good songster, 

 and will sometimes sit in the midst of a thick bush 

 in the evening, like a Nightingale, and maintain a 

 continued warble, for several minutes without a 

 pause. Its song is somewhat irregular, both in tune 

 and time, but it is wonderfully mellow for so small 

 a bird. It sometimes commences its song like a 

 Blackbird, but always ends with its own. In some 

 of its actions it resembles the Willow Wren, for it 

 seems constantly in motion, hopping from bough to 

 bough in search of insects, and singing at intervals. 

 It is very partial to fruit of all kinds, but at the 

 same time destroys vast numbers of caterpillars, 

 spiders, and Aphides. It will dart into the air and 





