BIRDS 



17. Garden- Warbler. Sylvia hortensis (Bech- 



stein) 



Not so often seen as the blackcap, but 

 nevertheless fairly common in the county. 

 Its song is a low, sweet, and continuous 

 warble, having a conversational tone, and the 

 bird while uttering it is very earnest and 

 gesticulating. 



1 8. Goldcrest. Regulus cristatus, K. L. Koch. 

 A resident bird in Warwickshire which 



breeds in many localities, though not abun- 

 dantly. The writer has seen a nest which 

 was suspended from the branch of a yew tree 

 in a garden at the back of a house in High 

 Street, Warwick, the contents of which were 

 visible from an upper window. That garden 

 was however only separated from the wooded 

 grounds of the castle by a back lane and a 

 high wall. In the great Lebanon cedars at 

 the castle the writer has many times seen 

 this little bird. 



19. Firecrest. Regulus ignicapillus (Brehm) 

 Although this bird has undoubtedly oc- 

 curred in Warwickshire no localities or dates 

 can be recorded. A few specimens killed at 

 no great distance from Warwick were brought 

 to John Spicer of that town for preservation, 

 one of which, a male, was examined by the 

 present writer when freshly mounted. 



20. Chiffchaff. Phylloscopus rufus (Bechstein) 

 A very early summer migrant, but though 



common not very abundant. It is also an 

 early breeder, the nest being sometimes con- 

 structed before its congeners, the willow- 

 warbler and the wood-warbler, have made 

 their appearance. It is generally placed on 

 or near the ground, but the writer has quite 

 recently seen one in a thick mass of ivy on 

 the top of a wall eight feet from the ground. 



21. Willow- Warbler. Phylloscopus trochilus 



(Linn.) 



This bird so closely resembles the chiffchaff 

 as to be with difficulty distinguished from it. 

 There is however a wide difference in the 

 song and in the coloration of the eggs. It 

 is common over the greater part of the 

 county. 



22. Wood- Warbler. Phylloscopus sibilatrix 



(Bechstein) 



A much rarer bird in Warwickshire than 

 its allies, the chiffchaff and willow-warbler, 

 but easily distinguished from them by its 

 somewhat greater size, and by its relatively 

 longer wings. It is a frequenter of trees and 

 coppices, and its peculiar trill, for it hardly 



merits the name of song, may be sometimes 

 heard from the very top of a tall tree. Its 

 domed nest, always on or near the ground, 

 is at once recognizable by its lining of horse- 

 hair. 



23. Reed - Warbler. Acrocephalus streperus 



(Vieillot) 



A noisy little summer migrant found by all 

 the streams in the county where there are 

 reeds. It will sometimes frequent osier beds, 

 and the present writer has heard it and seen 

 its nest in the osiers almost immediately under 

 the walls of Warwick Castle. The nest is 

 always suspended between three or four reeds 

 or osiers, and occasionally between the stems 

 of the willow herb, but reeds are always pre- 

 ferred. 



24. Marsh-Warbler. Acrocephalus palustris 



(Bechstein) 



The writer has heard the warble of this 

 sweet songster in the neighbourhood of Strat- 

 ford-on-Avon more than once, and is fully 

 assured of its occurrence in Warwickshire, 

 but cannot speak of its distribution in the 

 county. 



25. Sedge- Warbler. Acrocephalus phragmitis 



(Bechstein) 



To be seen in almost every hedge in most 

 parts of the county. 



26. Grasshopper-Warbler. Locustella neevia 



(Boddaert) 



Although by no means a rare bird it is 

 not abundant, and appears to be rather 

 local even within the limits of the county. 

 In the north of Warwickshire it is less abun- 

 dent than elsewhere, and is reported by Mr. 

 Chase to be far from common around Bir- 

 mingham. In the valley of the Avon its 

 peculiar trill may be often heard in fields of 

 wheat and barley. In these places it breeds, 

 the nest being placed on the ground and 

 well concealed beneath the tangled corn. 



27. Hedge - Sparrow. Accentor modularis 



(Linn.) 



Common, resident, and generally dis- 

 tributed. 



28. Alpine Accentor. Accentor collaris (Sco- 



poli) 



An alpine accentor which was shot in 

 proximity to the village of Ettington near 

 Stratford-on-Avon a few years since may 

 have been killed in Warwickshire, for Etting- 

 ton is almost on the line of division between 

 the counties of Warwick and Worcester. 



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