Lost British Birds. 19 



it as a distinct species in 1821. In Norfolk and Lincoln- 

 shire, where it bred regularly, it was well known to the 

 marshmen as the " red craking reed- wren," and the " red 

 night-reeler," or " reel-bird," from its peculiar song, which 

 resembles the whirring of the reel used by wool-spinners. 

 It inhabits reed beds, sings much by night, and makes a 

 cup- shaped nest of closely interlaced sedge-blades. 



It is curious to find this small obscure warbler figuring 

 among the extinct British birds ; and when we consider that 



the largest, most beautiful, or conspicuous species are almost 

 invariably first singled out for destruction by man, one is 

 disinclined to blame him for the disappearance of the night- 

 reeler. That its extinction was caused by a system of 

 drainage is scarcely credible. At the best of times it was 

 a rather rare bird, and about forty years ago, when 

 collectors became aware at the same time both of its 

 existence, and rarity, the usual lively scramble for examples 

 of the bird and its eggs took place, but not many specimens 

 were secured. Its extinction may be said to date back to 

 about the year 1849. 



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