883 



SYLVIADJE. 



SYLVIAD^E. 



behind a limb of ancient ivy, or even of an old fruit-tree trained 

 against it, sometimes a bole in the ground, receives the nest, the 

 outside of which is rough and rich with moss, and liued with hair and 

 feathers. Four, six, and even eight greenish-blue eggs are deposited, 

 and the first brood, for there are generally two in a season, are fre- 

 quently fledged by the second week in June. The food consists of 

 worms and insects, fruit, and berries. 



Bechstein speaks highly of its attractive qualities in plumage, 

 gesture, and song ; and says it will add to its natural notes parts of 

 the songs of other birds. He tells us that those which built under his 

 roof imitated tolerably the chaffinch that hung in a cage at his 

 window ; and his neighbour had one in his garden that repeated the 

 strains of a black-cap which had its nest near. 



In captivity Redstarts become so tame that they will take a meal- 

 worm from the hand. Sweet says that, when kept in confinement, he 

 considers this bird the most sensible, and, if brought up from the 

 nest, the most attached of all small birds ; but he adds that it may 

 be deemed the moat tender of all the tribe. It is, he observes, a 

 real mocker, and, if bred up from the young state, will learn the note 

 or call of almost any other bird : it will also learn a tune, and will 

 sing by night as well as by day, as long as a light is kept burning. He 

 had one that whistled the Copenhagen Waltz. 



The ' Portraits des Oyseaux ' has the following quatrain under the 

 cut of this Wall Nightingale : 



" Ce Kosjigiiol cat nomine de muraille, 

 Pourcc qn'es murs il bastit sa maison, 

 Fait ses petits : mats en comparaison 

 Au Roesignol, it ne dit rien qui vaille." 



Notwithstanding the censure involved in the last line and a half 

 however the Redstart is a very charming songster. In comparison 

 with the nightingale, every other bird's song must fade. 



Meluojihiltu has a slender beak, upper mandible slightly bent from 

 the base and finely emarginated near the tip ; under mandible straight, 

 shorter than the upper, and shutting within it; nostrils basal, lateral, 

 cleft longitudinally ; base of the beak surrounded with hairs. Wings 

 short, the first quill-feather very small, the second shorter than either 

 of the next four feathers ; the fourth and fifth the longest in the 

 wing. Tail elongated, cuneiform. Tarsi strong, and longer than the 

 middle toe ; claws of moderate length, sharp. 



\\ 



Dartford Warbler (Mrliznphiliu Dart/ordientii}. 

 Upper figure, male ; lower figure, female. 



3f. Darlfordiensis, the Dartford Warbler. It is the Pitte-Chou de 

 Provence of the French ; the Magnauina of Savi. ; and Provenser 

 Sanger of Meyer. 



The old male has all the upper parts, with the exception of the 

 tail, fine deep-gray ; throat, breast, and sides, purple-reddish, or the 

 colour of wine-lees ; middle of the belly white ; tail very long, 

 blackish-brown, the external feather only terminated with white : 

 quills ash-coloured externally, but black on the internal barbs ; wings 

 very short ; feet yellowish ; bill black, but yellowish-white at its base ; 

 iris brown. Length 5 inches. 



The female has the tints generally less vivid than those of the male ; 

 on the throat a greater number of fine whitish stria} than in the male, 

 which, when old, presents hardly any traces of them. 



The young of the year have a great number of small stripes on the 

 throat, the lower parts varied with whitish feathers. (Temm.) 



This bird is found in southern Europe, the countries that border 

 the Mediterranean, Spam, and the south of Italy, but Prince C. L. 

 Bonaparte notes it as rare, and as found in summer in mountainous 

 situations. It is comparatively scarce in Germany and Holland. 

 Permanent in England, but not generally diffused. Frequent in the 

 neighbourhood of London, and also at Bagshot, Chobham, and their 

 vicinities. Devonshire, Cornwall, and Berkshire, possess it also. 



The furze-brake and tangled heath are its favourite haunts. Mr. 

 Gould observes, that its form closely allies it to the Superb Warblers 

 (Malurus) of Australia, while its relationship to the Common White- 

 throat is strikingly apparent. With reference to its secluded habits, 

 the same author well remarks that in the spring it becomes more 

 lively and more frequently visible, " rising on quivering wing above 

 the tops of the furze, and uttering a hurried babbling song, much 

 after the manner of the Whitethroat ; at these times it erects the 

 feathers of the head into a crest, and distends the throat, exhibiting 

 many attitudes and gestulations." 



Dry stalks and grass intertwined with fibres of plants and roots 

 form the nest, which is generally snugly hid in the very heart of a 

 thick furze-bush not far from the ground. Eggs greenish-white, with 

 brown speckles and ashy spots, and thus resembling those of the 

 Whitethroat. 



The Dartford Warbler is, generally speaking, insectivorous, but 

 fruits do not come amiss to it, that is, such berries as it may find 

 near its retreats. 



Sylvicola. This genus is well-represented by the Myrtle Bird of 

 America. 



S. coronata, the Yellow-Crowned Warbler, or Myrtle-Bird. In 

 summer plumage it is blackish slate-colour, streaked with black; 

 beneath white ; breast spotted with black ; crown, sides of the breast, 

 and rump, yellow ; wings bifasciated with white ; tail black ; three 

 lateral tail-feathers spotted with white. Winter plumage edged with 

 brownish-olive, the yellow of the crown partly concealed by a margin 

 of the same olivaceous hue ; no black on the head or face. 



Young browner, the yellow much paler and nearly without black. 

 Length from 5 to 6 inches ; alar extent from 8 to 9 inches. 



It arrives in the Middle and Northern states of the Union from thp 

 south towards the end of April or beginning of May, and then probably 

 passes north to breed. In August they re-appear in those states, and 

 remain about the gardens and woods till about the end of November, 

 feeding almost exclusively at this period on the Myrtle- Wax Berries 

 (Myrica cerifera), or those of the Virginian Juniper. " These," says 

 Mr. Nuttall in continuation, " with other late and persisting berries, and 

 occasional insects, constitute their whiter food in the Southern States, 

 where, in considerable numbers, hi tho swamps and sheltered groves 

 of the sea-coast, they pass the cold season. In fine weather, in the 

 early part of October, they may be seen at times collecting grass- 

 hoppers and moths from the meadows and pastures, and, like the 

 Blue-Bird, they often watch for the appearance of their prey from a 

 neighbouring stake, bough, or fence-rail; and at this time are so 

 familiar and unsuspicious, particularly the young, as fearlessly to 

 approach almost within reach of the silent spectator. At the period 

 of migration they appear in an altered and less brilliant dress ; the 

 bright yellow spot on the crown is now edged with brownish-olive, 

 so that the prevailing colour of this beautiful mark is only seen on 

 shedding the feathers with the hand ; a brownish tint is also added to 

 the whole plumage; but Wilson's figure of this supposed autumnal 

 change only represents the young bird. The old is, iu fact, but little 

 less brilliant than iu summer, and I have a well-founded suspicion 

 that the wearing the edges of the feathers, or some other secondary 

 cause, alone produces this change in the livery of spring, particularly 

 as it is not any sexual distinction. While feeding, they are very 

 active, in the manner of Flycatchers, hovering among the cedars and 

 myrtles with hanging wings, and only rest when satisfied with glean- 

 ing food. In spring they are still more timid, busy, and restless. 

 Of their nest we are wholly ignorant. When approached, or while 

 feeding, they only utter a feeble plaintive 'tship' of alarm. This 

 beautiful species arrives here about the 7th or 8th of May, and now 

 chiefly frequents the orchards, uttering, at short intervals, in the 

 morning, a sweet and varied, rather plaintive warble, resembling in 

 part the song of the Summer Yellow-Bird, but much more the fare- 

 well, solitary, autumnal notes of the Robin Redbreast of Europe. 

 The tones at times are also so ventriloqual and variable iu elevation, 



