368 BRITISH BIRDS. 



The Reed-Warbler appears to have been known to Willughby and Ray, 

 who most unaccountably placed it amongst their " Woodpeckers less pro- 

 perly so-called " ! but was not accurately described until Brisson's great 

 work appeared. Gilbert White must have been acquainted with the bird, 

 which he describes as differing from the Grasshopper Warbler by having 

 the head, back, and wing-coverts without the dark spots of the latter 

 species. He also identifies his bird with the Lesser Reed-Sparrow of 

 Willughby and Ray, which is undoubtedly the Reed-Warbler ; but as in 

 a subsequent letter he lays great stress on the white streak over the eye 

 and the tawny rump, many writers, amongst whom are Blyth, Yarrell, 

 and Newton, have concluded that he meant the Sedge-Warbler. He pro- 

 bably confounded the two birds together. Fourteen years afterwards any 

 confusion that may have arisen was cleared up by Lightfoot, who 

 described both the bird, its habits, and its nest, from observations made 

 in West Middlesex. 



The Reed- Warbler is common enough in the south of England ; but in 

 the north it is very rare, and has consequently acquired, in the eyes of 

 northern naturalists, the fascination which naturally emanates from the 

 halo of mystery which surrounds rare birds. It seems very doubtful 

 whether the Reed- Warbler breeds in Great Britain north of the H umber 

 or west of the Mersey. Writing to me of its occurrence in North-east 

 Lincolnshire, Mr. Cordeaux states that it is rare. " In the summer of 

 1876 and two following years two or three pairs nested in a reedy drain 

 in this parish (Great Cotes) . Since that period I have not met with them, 

 which is more remarkable as they were not disturbed in rearing their 

 young. It occurs tolerably regularly on migration through the district in 

 the autumn." It has been recorded from Ireland and Scotland, and is 

 even supposed to breed in Lothian ; but as the writers who mention its 

 occurrence do not appear to have been aware of the singularity of 

 the circumstance, we may fairly imagine that no great pains were 

 taken to verify the statements, and we may consequently accept 

 them with some doubt. On the continent the range of this bird is not 

 very limited. It is found in suitable localities in summer throughout 



much harm ; and his unscientific nomenclature would have been forgotten as a passing 

 eccentricity, if, thirty-two years afterwards, Xewton had not adopted it. As a natural 

 consequence, the minor ornithologists blindly followed their leaders Halting, Blanford, 

 Gurney, Dresser, and nearly every contributor of the ' Ibis ' and the ' Zoologist ' adopted 

 the new names, until the name of Acrocepkalue arundinaceus meant one bird in England 

 and another in France and Germany. English ornithologists must accept the penalty of 

 having followed such blind guides, and must add an authority (Brisson) to their name, 

 or a repudiation of other significations, such as nee Gray, nee Neicton, or nee Dresser, 

 until the confusion produced by these writers has blown over and been forgotten. 



