WARBLERS 291 



long, with many cadences, it inevitably includes apparent imitations of that of 



other birds. The marsh warbler never builds its nest over water but generally 



near by ; the materials always including cylindrical grass-stems for the cup, and 



horse-hair for the lining. At the beginning or middle of June, at the earliest, 



the nest will contain from five to seven white or greenish eggs with underlying 



grey markings and overlying spots. Its food is similar to that of the reed 



warbler ; but it is by nature a bolder bird than the other members of the genus, 



and may often be seen sitting on bush or tree, and covers comparatively long 



distances on the wing. The marsh warbler inhabits the warm and temperate 



countries of Europe, such as the marshy districts of northern Italy and the 



deltas of the Rhone and Rhine. It is a somewhat rare visitor to England and 



is not found very far north, although it appears in Denmark and Russian Finland. 



When migrating it travels as far south as Natal. 



The reed warbler (A. streperus). as its name implies, prefers thick 

 Reed Warbler 



beds of reeds to any other covert. The nest, shaped like an inverted 



sugar-loaf, is compactly built of dry grass, reeds, moss, wool, feathers, hair, and 



thistledown, and hung among reed-stems above the water, sometimes, but rarely, at 



some distance off; and it contains from four to six white eggs tinged with green 



and blotched with olive and dark brown. When fancying itself unobserved, this 



brisk little bird hops among the reeds and rushes with head bowed and feathers 



ruffled. When surprised, it alternately spreads and folds its tail, jerking it up 



and down, and then slinks into the densest part of the bushes and reeds, generally 



to reappear soaring aloft, whence it suddenly drops into safety. It feeds on all 



kinds of insects, especially small dragon-flies, and in the autumn on berries. The 



song, which is heard a great deal during the night, is distinguished by frequent 



repetitions of the syllables, tiri, zerr, zaek, scherk, and tret, and is 



of a chirping, chattering character. The warning note is a kind of whirring 



scharr, the call sounding like taitsch. The reed warbler inhabits central and 



southern Europe and western Asia ; but its range includes England, Denmark, and 



southern Sweden in the north, and Baluchistan in the east, and the bird passes 



down the Nile Valley on migration. The plumage is rusty olive-brown on the 



back, the wing and tail feathers being dusky with paler edges; the throat and 



centre of the breast white, washed with brownish buff, and the under tail-coverts, 



under wing-coverts, and axillaries white. The eye-stripe is pale buff, the beak 



dark brown above and pale brown below, the eyes are brown, and the legs purplish 



brown, and not flesh-coloured like those of the marsh warbler. 



Greater Reed The greater reed warbler (A. twrdoides), so called because of its 



warbler. large size compared with others of the same genus, lives and builds 



near the water. The plumage is of rufous light brown above and white and 



buff below. The wing is proportionately longer than that of the other species 



of the genus, the longest feather being the second primary. There is a whitish 



eye-stripe, the base of the beak and the mouth are yellow, and the legs light 



horn brown, the feet being darker. Its haunt is among rivers and marshes, 



where abundance of reeds are intermixed with a goodly number of willow and 



other bushes. The nest, which contains five or six pale greenish blue eggs, 



boldly blotched with brown, is made of dead reeds, rootlets, and leaves, and lined 



