156 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



It will be seen that out of these eight only 

 can be regarded as really common in Britain, 

 these being : 



1. The whitethroat. 



2. The lesser whitethroat. 



3. The garden warbler. 



4. The blackcap. 



10. The reed warbler. 

 1 2. The sedge warbler. 



18. The chirTchaff. 



19. The willow wren. 



No. 7, the Dartford or furze warbler, though 

 resident, is local. The remaining eleven varieties 

 are mostly too rare or uncommon for me to 

 refer to. 



It is exceedingly difficult for any but a skilled 

 naturalist to distinguish at first sight the differences 

 which exist between some of even these more 

 common of our warblers. I refer, of course, to 

 the living birds. I do not think that they are 

 more shy than other birds, but their movements 

 are so quick that before it is possible to examine 

 them, even with the assistance of a field-glass, 

 they have disappeared from view ; and so, unless 

 the gun is brought into requisition, no little 

 practice and patience are necessary to enable an 

 inexperienced observer to pronounce with certainty 

 as to the description of bird which may be before 

 him. But what true lover of birds can find it 

 in his heart to take the life of such bright-eyed, 

 joyous little creatures ? Let them live, by all 



