244 SYLVIAD^:. 



In this country it is resident throughout the year, fre- 

 quenting hedge-rows, gardens, and pleasure-grounds, from 

 spring to autumn, where it feeds indiscriminately on in- 

 sects in their various stages, worms, and seeds, hut not 

 on fruit ; drawing nearer to the habitations of men as 

 winter approaches, to gain such scanty subsistence as 

 chance or kindness may afford ; and Gilbert White of Sel- 

 borne remarks, that it is a frequenter of gutters and drains 

 in hard weather, where crumbs and other sweepings may 

 be picked up. It is more frequently seen on the ground 

 than elsewhere, is unobtrusive and harmless, and deserves 

 protection and support. 



Early in February the male may be heard singing his 

 short and plaintive song ; but the voice of this little fa- 

 vourite, though sweet in tone, is deficient in variety as 

 well as in power : yet his song may still be heard through- 

 out the greater part of the year, if we except a short 

 period in August when undergoing his annual moult. Mr. 

 Knapp has observed that Hedge Warblers are almost 

 always seen in pairs, feeding and moving in company with 

 each other, and may truly, in a double sense, be consi- 

 dered domestic birds. Their nest, built of green moss, 

 roots and wool, and lined with hair, is usually placed 

 rather low down in a thick bush or hedge-row, and is 

 generally finished early in March. As observed in the 

 Journal of a Naturalist, " it is nearly the first bird that 

 forms a nest ; and this being placed in an almost leafless 

 hedge, with little art displayed in its concealment, gene- 

 rally becomes the booty of every prying boy; and the 

 blue eggs of the Hedge Warbler are always found in such 

 numbers on his string, that it is surprising how any of 

 the race are remaining, especially when we consider the 

 many casualties to which the old birds are exposed from 



