2i4 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



of a public road, and will place its nest in a stunted bush about 

 a foot from the ground. On one occasion we found a nest in 

 a shrubbery, at Avington Park, built in among the growers of 

 an elm tree among the dead leaves and rubbish, at a height of 

 quite four feet from the ground. The nest was shaped like 

 that of a Wren, and opened outwards, but was built of the 

 usual rough grass of the ChirTchaff's nest. That there should t 

 be no mistake about the species to which the nest belonged, 

 we caught the hen-biid in a butterfly-net, as she quitted the 

 nest, and the skin is in the British Museum at this day, for, on 

 finding that the eggs were just hatching out and could not be 

 blown, we sought to let the little captive go, but found that she 

 had died of fright in the net, and we were, therefore, obliged 

 to make a specimen of her for the Museum. 



Eggs. From five to seven in number. Ground - colour 

 china-white or creamy-white. As with the Willow- Wren, there 

 are two distinct types of eggs, one with numerous small dots, 

 and one with more scattered but larger spots and blotches. The 

 spots are deep chocolate or reddish-brown, or more often 

 purplish-brown, almost black. Underlying spots of violet-grey 

 are seen in many eggs, but there is seldom an indication of a 

 ring round the larger end. Axis, o'6-o*65 inch ; diam, 0^45- 



THE YELLOW-BROWED WILLOW-WARBLER. PHYLLOSCOPUS 

 SUPERCILIOSUS. 



Motacilla superciliosa, Gm., S. N., i., p. 975 (1788). 

 Phylloscopus superciliosus, Newt. ed. Yarr., i., p. 443 (1873); 



Dresser, B. Eur., ii., p. 469, pi. 474 (1874) ; Seeb., Cat. 



B. Brit. Mus., v., p. 68 (1881) ; id. Hist. Br. B., i., p. 441 



(1883); B. O. U. List Br. B., p. 15 (1883) ; Lilford, Col. 



Fig. Br. B. ; pt. v. (1887); Saunders, Man., p. 59 (1889). 



Adult Male. General colour above olive-green, gradually be- 

 coming lighter and more yellowish-green on the lower back, 

 rump, and upper tail-coverts, so that the head appears some- 

 what more dingy than the back ; down the centre of the crown 

 an indistinct line of yellow ; lesser and median wing-coverts 

 like the back, the latter with yellow tips forming a band ; the 

 greater coverts dusky brown, externally yellowish-green and 



