WARBLERS 289 



as early as the end of April or beginning of May, from five to seven bluish grey 



eggs marbled with brown. The young birds, which as early as the beginning of 



June creep with their mother through the bushes like mice, leave the nest 



altogether as soon as they are able to move about. 



This pretty, lively, little warbler hops nimbly about on its long legs, or runs 



along with the swiftness of a rolling ball. Like the robin, it drops its wings, 



and jerks its tail up and down, at the same time spreading it out like a fan. On 



the ground it moves about in the shadow of bushes, where it fives on water-insects, 



earth-worms, and, it is said, berries. In its song, which is characteristic, clear 



whistling notes rise above a tinkling like that of a lute ; and with its own melody 



it mingles passages imitated from other birds. Generally singing on a low, solitary 



bush or a stone lying on the flat ground, or even while running, it is heard most 



frequently in the early morning or late evening. 



The haunt of the water warbler (Acrocephalus aquaticus) is 

 Water Warbler 



' wherever sedges overgrown with underwood abound and reeds are 



but few. This bird is principally found in central and southern Europe, though 

 it visits France, England, Holland, north Germany, and the south of Denmark. 

 In winter it visits the delta of the Nile, and it breeds in western Asia, north- 

 western Africa, and the Canary Isles. Skilful in concealing itself among the 

 sedges, even when they are only a span high, it runs like a mouse, and keeps close 

 to the ground when in flight. It seldom perches on trees, and builds its nest near 

 the ground, sometimes between the stalks of the sedges and other plants, but 

 generally in more exposed situations sparsely overgrown with bushes, and 

 never among reeds overhanging water. The nest is a deep cup hung among the 

 stems of the plants, and made of moss and grass and lined with horsehair : in it 

 may be found four or five eggs, generally laid about the second half of May or 

 beginning of June. The water warbler is a shy bird, feeding on midges, gnats, 

 and other insects, and endowed with a short, sweet, chirping song. On the ground 

 it runs and walks, rather than hops, and moves in the same way up and down the 

 stems of plants with such quickness that it appears to slide. Five inches in 

 length, in colour it is rusty or brownish yellow striped with black, the under-parts 

 being light yellow without spots ; down the middle of the crown there is a buft' 

 streak, edged on either side with a broad black stripe, which distinguishes it from 

 the other species of the genus. 



The water warbler is frequently mistaken for the sedge warbler 

 Sedge Warbler 



' (A. phragmites), a species ranging all over Europe, even as far 



north as 70° in Norway and 68° in the valley of the Petchora, and also met 



with in western Asia, while in Africa it migrates as far south as the Transvaal. 



Haunting the banks of rivers and marshes covered with bushes, flowering reeds, 



and other narrow-leaved bog-plants, where dwarf willows, alder-bushes, and other 



shrubs form an ideal dwelling-place, it is also met with in copses and hedgerows 



at a considerable distance from river or marsh. It may be distinguished from 



the water-warbler by having all the crown-stripes brown. The plumage of the 



back is brown clouded with darker brown, while the under-parts are buff 



shading into tawny at the sides. The nest is frequently found quite a quarter 



of a mile from water, and is always near or on the ground, and never over water 



vol. 1. — 19 



