THE GARDEN WARBLER. 75 



few underlying spots of pearl grey, and a few blackish-brown surface spots or hair- 

 lines ; some examples are very faintly marked, with all the markings sinuous but 

 arranged longitudinally and covering the whole surface, others have somewhat 

 bolder nebulous patches of spots chiefly confined to the larger end, in others most 

 of the markings run together into a vague smoky cap at the larger end, leaving 

 the remainder of the egg almost white ; but the general effect of a crowd of Garden 

 Warbler's eggs impresses one with the conviction that they are extremely uniform 

 in tone : some clutches contain small eggs, others large, according to the age of 

 the parents ; their average size is about the same as those of the Blackcap ; but 

 the latter bird sometimes lays a much shorter and rounder egg than I have ever 

 found in a Garden Warbler's nest. 



The Garden Warbler sits somewhat closer than the Blackcap, only slipping 

 off her eggs at the last moment and then diving down over the edge of the nest, 

 so close to your hand that her wing will sometimes brush your fingers ; there is 

 therefore no difficulty, apart from the different character of the nest, in making 

 certain of the identity of any eggs which you take yourself, and there is only one 

 variety of the Blackcap's eggs which could by any chance be mistaken for the 

 product of Sylvia hortensis. 



The song of the Garden Warbler is exceedingly pleasing, less rich and full 

 than that of the Blackcap ; somewhat more plaintive, though rapidly enunciated ; 

 in tone reminding one a little of an extra good Canary, yet without the shrieking 

 notes which frequently mar the song of that bird. Excepting when rearing its 

 young, this species sings frequently throughout the day, but whether it sings 

 again after the rearing of its single brood (I do not believe in the double- 

 broodedness of this bird) I cannot say ; probably not : all I can positively state is 

 that I have never heard it even as late as July, a month in which, occasionally, a 

 late nest may be taken. 



The food of S 1 . hortensis in the spring and summer consists very largely of 

 spiders, insects and their larvae, the caterpillars of the two smaller Cabbage 

 butterflies (Ganoris rapcc and G. napij being favourite articles of diet and largely 

 used for feeding the nestlings*. In the summer, however, currants and strawberries 

 are not despised by the Garden Warbler, while in the autumn fruits and berries 

 seem to become its favourite food. 



The alarm note of the Garden Warbler is a kind of check, check, sometimes 

 followed by a guttural sound. Speaking of the Garden Warbler, Stevenson 



* These larvie are eaten with avidity by all insectivorous birds ; whereas the caterpillars of the large 

 Cabbage butterfly (G. Brassica:) seem to be offensive to nearly all. Why this should be the case, when one 

 sees that all three caterpillars eat the same leaves, and produce very similiar butterflies (which are eaten indis- 

 criminately) is a poser. 



