THE WOOD WARBLER. 21 



though not rare, it is somewhat local, and in the 

 British Islands, it appears, is confined exclu- 

 sively to England and the south of Scotland. 

 Mr. Thompson has included it with hesitation 

 amongst the birds of Ireland ; for although the 

 description given to him of certain birds and 

 eggs seemed to apply to this species, it was 

 stated that the nest which contained the eggs 

 was lined with feathers. Now, the Willow 

 Wren invariably makes use of feathers for this 

 purpose, but the Wood Warbler does not. The 

 nest of the latter is composed entirely of dry 

 grass and leaves, occasionally mixed with a little 

 moss ; and although I have sometimes found 

 horsehair inside, I do not remember to have 

 seen or heard of an instance in which any 

 feathers were employed. The eggs, five or six 

 in number, are white, closely freckled over with 

 reddish brown. 



Mr. Blake- Knox, a well-known naturalist, 

 resident in the county of Dublin, says (" Zoolo- 

 gist," 1866, p. 300), "I tried very hard this 

 year to add the Wood Wren to our Dublin 



