362 SYLVIADJE. 



As this little bird is one of the first to arrive here in 

 the spring, so is it also one of the last to leave us in au- 

 tumn, and it is frequently heard and seen as late as the 

 middle of October. Montagu states in his Supplement 

 that he saw this species several times in the winters of 

 1806 and 1808 in Devonshire ; and Mr. Neville Wood, as 

 mentioned by Mr. Hewitson, has heard its note as early 

 as the 5th of February ; but on the occurrence of an 

 unusually late spring, the song was not heard by the 

 same gentleman in the north of England till the 2 1st of 

 April. 



Mr. Sweet says, " The Chiff Chaff is easily taken in a 

 trap, and soon becomes tame in confinement. One that 

 he caught was so familiar as to take a fly from his 

 fingers ; it also learned to drink milk out of a tea-spoon, 

 of which it was so fond that it would fly after it all 

 round the room, and perch on the hand that held it, with- 

 out showing the least symptom of fear ; it would also fly 

 up to the ceiling, and bring down a fly in its beak every 

 time." 



The Chiff Chaff is nowhere so abundant as the Willow 

 Warbler ; it is, however, found, though few in number, 

 in all the southern counties from Surrey and Sussex, to 

 Cornwall and Wales ; but Mr. Thompson sends me word 

 it is not so abundant in Ireland as Sylvia trochilus. It is 

 found in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Derbyshire, Westmore- 

 land, Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland; but 

 further to the north in this country I am unable to trace 

 it. Mr. Hewitson noticed it in Norway ; and on the 

 European continent, in summer, it is generally distributed 

 to the shores of the Mediterranean, and is even common 

 in Italy in winter. It is found at Corfu, Sicily, and 

 Malta, and was also seen by Mr. Strickland at Smyrna in 

 November. 



