THE REED WARBLER. 267 



it with the reed thrush {Tardus arundinaceus^ Linn.), and in 

 its manner of life with the black-bonnet, or reed bunting 

 {Emheriza Schcsniclus, Linn.). It is five inches in length, of 

 which the tail measures two. The beak, seven lines long, 

 resembles that of the arbour bird, brown above and yellowish 

 beneath ; the iris is chestnut brown ; the shanks are eight 

 lines high, and ash grey ; the forehead is very long, greenish 

 grey ; the rest of the upper part of the body, including the 

 wing-coverts, are of the same colour, tinged with olive ; the 

 rump is paler ; a straw-coloured line extends above the eyes ; 

 the cheeks are olive brown ; the under part of the body is 

 yellowish white ; the knees are olive grey ; the anterior quill- 

 feathers are dusky ; the secondary are dark broMTi ; all are 

 edged with olive grey ; the tail-feathers have the same colour 

 as the quill-feathers, but with a wider olive grey border ; the 

 tail is very much rounded, and nearly wedge-formed. 



There is little difference in the female. Her head is pale 

 brown : a white line passes across the eyes ; the upper pai*t is 

 reddish grey, tinged with olive ; the under part, except the 

 throat, which is white, is pale grey, tinged with yellow ; the 

 quill-feathers are darker brown than the tail, with an olive 

 grey border. 



Habitation. — "When wild they are found throughout Europe, wherever 

 rushes and reeds abound. They arrive in Germany towards the middle 

 of April, and leave it the beginning of September. As they are very 

 delicate, in the house they must be kept in a nightingale's cage. 



Food. — When wild it feeds on all kinds of aquatic insects, and, when 

 these fall, on berries. In the house, independently of nightingale's food, 

 it requires in a cage all the insects that can be caught, as flies, water- 

 spiders, and gnats. 



Breeding. — The nest, rather long and very ingeniously fastened to the 

 stems of the reeds or the branches of bushes by the water side, is constructed 

 of pieces of dried grass, of which the largest are on the outside, and the 

 finer within ; these are sometimes mixed with wool and hair. The eggs, 

 five or six in number, are greenish white, streaked and speckled with olive 

 green. The young ones can only be reared on ants' eggs. 



Mode of Taking. — These birds are sometimes caught by placing* lime 

 twigs on a place cleared of the turf, and throwing meal-worms there. 



Attractive Qualities. — The song of the reed warbler very much 

 resembles that of the arbour bird, but is not so full ; what renders it so 

 agreeable is, that its varied melody is beard during evening and morning 

 twilight. 



