a new Engllfh Btr^, 12 



Its food Is infedls, at leaft in part, for I obferved it catching 

 flies. It hops continually from fpray to fpray, or from one 

 reed to another, putting itfelf into a ftooping pofture before it 

 moves. 1 heard it make no other than a fingle note, not un- 

 like the found of the word peep, uttered in a low plaintive 

 tone ; but this might probably be only a note of diftrefs, and 

 it may have, perhaps, more pleafing and melodious ones at 

 other times, with which I am unacquainted. 



The neft of this bird is a moft curious flru6lure, unlike that 

 of any other I am acquainted with, enough to point out the 

 difference of the fpecies, if every other charader was wanting. 



It may not be amifs here to obferve, that there is fuch a' 

 manifefl diverfity in the materials, locality, and formation of 

 nefts, and fuch variety of colours in the eggs of many birds 

 (in other refpe6ts hard to be diftinguiflied), that it is pity this 

 part of Ornithology has not been more attended to. I am well 

 convinced, that as many fpecies of infedis, nearly allied to each 

 other in colours and fhape, and reputed to be only i;^r/V//V/, are 

 frequently, from a due attention to their larvae (which are often 

 extremely different), difcovered to be fpecies totally diflindt ; fo, 

 amongft birds- of fimiiar genus and feather, their true differences 

 may be often found by carefully obferving their nefts and eggs,, 

 when other characters, are fo miimte, in the birds themfelves,. 

 as .to be diftingullhed with difficulty. By experience I have 

 found this to be remarkably verified in fome of the Lark kind. - 

 But to return to the neff. I was going to defcribe. It is com- 

 pofed externally of dry flalks of grafs, lined, for the mofl 

 part, with the flowery tufts of the common reed, or Arundo 

 'Dallatoria, but fometimes with fmall dead gralles, and a few 

 black horfe-hairs to cover them. This neft is ufually found 



fufpcnded 



