WILLOW- WARBLER, WOOD-WARBLER, CHIFFCHAFF G7 



chapters, the three present species build domed nests, beautiful little 

 homes of grass (PI. 52 and xx.), moss, bracken or leaves, concealed in 

 tufts of grass, under a tangle of weeds or creepers, or in a bush, and 

 warmly lined, in the case of the wood-wren with grass, and perhaps 

 a little hair ; in the case of the other two with feathers, sometimes a 

 hundred or more. The rejection by the wood-wren of feathers as a 

 lining is a curious fact, seeing that otherwise it resembles its two 

 congeners so closely in its nesting habits. 



The hen chiffchaff, when sitting snugly in her couch of feathers, 

 has been heard to utter a quiet, contented, purring note, which can 

 only be heard a few feet away. 1 This interesting fact may be found to 

 be true of many other species, and it shows, incidentally, how much 

 has still to be learnt even about our commonest birds. We have 

 hardly yet learnt to see or hear them, with close attention. 



The cocks of all three species will feed their hens when incubat- 

 ing, and seem at times, with masculine cunning to profit by the 

 occasion in order to persuade them to quit the nest and sport awhile 

 in the leafy shade. Amaryllis is often not unwilling. The cocks also 

 take their share in feeding the young, but individuals vary in their 

 zeal. One cock willow-wren that I watched brought insects to the 

 nest as often as his mate, entering it invariably by the same route as 

 she, and each time celebrating the completion of his task by a song. 

 Another could not summon courage to go at all. While the little 

 hen, once accustomed to my presence, went busily backwards and 

 forwards, he executed a series of false starts, quitting his perch, flying 

 a yard or two, turning almost a somersault, and darting back to his 

 perch. At last, with a great effort, he reached a twig opposite the 

 nest, a fat green grub conspicuous in his beak. Now, said I, he is 

 going. He started, turned the usual semi-somersault, sped back, 

 and, overcome by his feelings, swallowed the grub himself. 



All three species feed their young on insects and their larva?, 

 which they find chiefly among the foliage, sometimes hovering 



1 H. E. Howard, op. cit. 



