WARBLERS 



31 



Fig. 33. 



Rare in 



olive-brown margins to tail-feathers. Wing quills dull grey. 

 Under-parts mostly pale grey. 



Nest. In undergrowth, bushes, 

 hedges. Material : chiefly grass, lined 

 with finer grasses and horse-hair. 



Eggs. Usually 4-5. Creamy-white 

 marked yellowish-brown and some- 

 times with dusky spots and streaks. 

 Occasionally salmon-pink with reddish 

 markings. Also white marked and un- 

 marked. Av. size, '76 x *57 in. Lay- 

 ing begins in May. Broods 1-2. 



55. Garden -warbler [Sylvia borin 

 (Boddaert); Sylvia hortensis (Bechstein)]. 



Summer visitor generally distributed, but local. 

 Ireland. Bird of passage. 



Bird. Length 5| in. Recognised by uniform olive-brown 

 of upper-parts, wing, and tail. Sexes alike. There may be 

 a pale buff stripe over the eye. Under-parts greyish-white 

 with dull buff tinge on throat, forebreast, and flanks. 



Nest. Place : bushes in gardens, on wood-edges, in hedges 

 or herbage. Material : grass stalks loosely put together, lined 

 with finer grasses and hair. 



Eggs. Usually 5. Like those of blackcap, but glossier and 

 more distinctly marked. Occasionally almost white, with 

 " faint yellowish cloudings or zones of small spots " ( Jourdain). 

 Av. size, "79 x '58 in. Laying begins in May. One brood usual. 



56. Dartford- warbler [Sylvia undata dartfordiensis Latham]. 

 Stationary, chiefly in the southern English counties, on gorse 

 commons and heaths. 



Bird. Length 5 in. Recognised by the dark brown 

 of the upper-parts and the long 

 fan-shaped tail. The male has the 

 under-parts mostly dark chestnut- 

 red. Wing quills sepia-brown. Tail 

 dark brown with a white margin to 

 the outermost feathers. Iris dark 

 red. Female and young paler. With 

 the autumn moult white spots appear 

 on the throat of both sexes, but dis- 

 appear during the winter. 



Nest. Place : usually in gorse or rough heather. Material : 

 usually grass stems, &c., lined with finer grasses and a little 

 hair, wool, or feathers. 



Eggs. Usually 4. "Much like the whitethroats, but 

 smaller, less greenish, with a whiter ground and more 



Fig. 34 



