90 OUR IRISH SONG BIRDS. 



Wrens, he has come to the conclusion that, as regards 

 the wings, the following formula may be relied on : 



Wood Warbler, 2nd feather equal to 4th ; 3rd and 4th with outer 



webs sloped off towards the extremity. 



Willow Warbler, 2nd equal to 6th ; 3rd, 4th, and 5th sloped off. 

 Chiff-chaff, 2nd equal to 7th; 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th sloped off. 



The song of the Wood Warbler deserves to be styled 

 a remarkable rather than a melodious one ; in my 

 opinion it is by no means equal to that of the Willow 

 Warbler. It has been well represented by the syllables, 

 " tweet, tweet, tweet, teet, teet, teet, tee, tee, tee, ee, ee, 

 ee," pronounced with a certain hissing sound hence 

 the terms sibilatrix and siffleur and hurried towards 

 the close ; as the bird sings, it seems much agitated, its 

 throat distended, and its head turned from side to side. 

 The term " shivering note " has been applied to this 

 song by Gilbert White and others, and with some 

 propriety ; the syllables mentioned before, however, 

 seem to me exactly to describe it. After singing it 

 sometimes utters a curious, shrill cry, " jee, jee, jee, jee," 

 so very unlike the song as to lead one to believe that it 

 must proceed from some other bird. When listening to 

 this bird in Norfolk, I pointed out this peculiarity to my 

 kind host, Mr. Bolton ; but he could hardly believe that 

 the two songs proceeded from the same bird until he 

 saw and heard for himself. Wood Warblers also have 

 a "tweet" or "twe-it" which much resembles the 

 "whit" of the Willow Warbler and "hoo-id" of the 

 Chiff-chaff. 



Mr. A. G. More, F.L.S., in his list of Dublin birds, 

 mentions the Wood Warbler as noticed by Mr. Blake 



