REED AND SEDGE WARBLERS 167 



the purpose, though at times they select other 

 situations, even those at some little distance from 

 the riverside. I have on several occasions found 

 the nest of the reed warbler built into the branched 

 stems of the ' cow-parsley,' although an unlimited 

 supply of reeds was close at hand. I found five 

 such nests recently (1895), an< ^ within twenty 

 yards of a very thick bed of reeds, the latter in 

 close proximity to the river, and equally sheltered 

 and secluded as the spots selected. The plumage 

 of the reed warbler is of an olive-brown above, 

 below pale buff, a reddish tinge pervading both 

 the upper and lower parts. That of the sedge 

 warbler is brown in the upper parts, but each 

 feather is marked with a dark centre ; the crown 

 is blackish-brown^ streaked with lighter brown. 

 A still more marked characteristic serves to dis- 

 tinguish the two birds, viz., the stripe above the 

 eyes of the reed warbler is narrow, and of a pale 

 buff colour ; that similarly situated in the sedge 

 warbler is broad, and of a yellowish white. 

 The reed warbler is far less common than the 

 sedge warbler, though it cannot be termed 

 rare or even uncommon, for wherever there is 

 water, and plenty of reeds surrounding it, it is 

 pretty sure to be found. At first sight the reed- 

 bed may appear destitute of bird-life, but the 

 instant the reeds are disturbed the birds appear as 

 if by magic. 



The reed warbler not only prefers to make its 

 nest by the waterside, but is not often to be seen 



