MARSH-WARBLER. 377 



times one might imagine that one was listening to the song of a Reed- 

 Warbler with an unusually rich voice ; but more often the melody recalls 

 the song of the Swallow, the Lark, or of the Tree-Warbler, and often one 

 might come to the conclusion that the singer had had lessons from a 

 Nightingale or a Bluethroat. The song is not so loud as that of the 

 Nightingale, but almost as rich and decidedly more varied. In some 

 parts of Germany both species are common, and in the course of a 

 morning's stroll, you may hear both birds in full song and have a good 

 opportunity of making a comparison between them. I penned the 

 preceding notes three years ago on the banks of the river that winds 

 past Herrenhau;-en, near Hanover, whither my friend Post-Director Pralle 

 had taken me the year before he died, to teach me the difference between 

 the songs of these two birds, both of them special favourites of his. 

 Xaumaun says that the call- and alarm-notes resemble very closely those 

 of the Reed- Warbler. He also asserts that, in addition to their usual 

 insect food, they are fond of currants, elder-berries, and other soft 

 fruits. 



The same excellent observer states that " the nest is never placed over 

 water not even over marshy ground. It is always built over firm ground, 

 though this is generally somewhat moist, as it cannot help being on the 

 bank of a stream, a situation often chosen. But you can always reach 

 the nest dry shod. In the Lowlands I always found it near the large 

 country-houses, especially in the gardens on the banks of the moats, 

 which sometimes were filled with reeds, and frequently contained very 

 little vegetation. The nest was sometimes close to the water, but often 

 many steps away from it, in low bushes overgrown with reeds ; frequently 

 it was built in the nettles, or in a clump of water-sorrel and reeds, or in 

 a small bush overgrown with reeds, nettles, and other plants. It is also 

 said to be found in the rape-fields, generally iii the ditches, seldom deep 

 in the rape itself. The Reed-Warbler often breeds near the Marsh- 

 Warbler, sometimes in the same ditch; but the latter bird always builds 

 in the herbage on the bank near the water, whilst the former as constantly 

 breeds in the reeds over the water. To this rule there seems to be no 

 exception. The nest is generally from one to three feet from the ground, 

 very seldom nearer, and, I am told on the best authority, never on the 



ground itself It is no use to look for the nest in the middle of dense 



thickets, but only on their edges, especially in isolated little bushes close 

 to the borders of ditches and moats. When one knows this they are 

 comparatively easy to find. The greatest difficulty connected with the 

 search is injthe great restlessness of the bird. The male sings now here, 

 and then a hundred yards away. He seems to require for his feeding- 

 ground a much wider circle than his congeners do. The best way to find 

 the nest is to notice where he sings during the night or at early morning 



