PERCHING BIRDS. 81 



is elegant in shape, and the colours of the plumage are 

 very pleasing, while its singular tremulous call cannot 

 remain unnoticed. 



The Willow Wren (S. trochilus) is much more abun- 

 dant than the wood wren, and frequents the alder and 

 willow trees growing on the banks of the streams, and 

 the hedgerows of the adjacent meadows. The brook 

 below the town is bordered here and there by rows of 

 dwarf willows and hedges of the same, and here the 

 willow warbler is numerous. Often while fly-fishing on 

 a summer's evening I have been interested in watching 

 their lively and active habits as they climbed and hopped 

 about from twig to twig ; now searching the river bank, 

 now darting out to share with the trout below, the gnats 

 that hovered over the water, and again regaining an 

 overhanging bough they would thread their way quickly 

 into the willow above, prying under every leaf and into 

 each crevice for aphides and caterpillars. They do not 

 always agree kindly with their fellows, but will chase 

 each other in a quarrelsome manner, and occasionally 

 direct their puny attacks on other birds. 



The ChifTchaff (S. rufa) haunts the same spots, both 

 species being often seen together ; indeed, they are so 

 much alike that an ordinary observer would not detect 

 the difference, and I believe they are frequently con- 

 founded ; but the legs of the chifTcharT are darker than 

 those of S. trochilus, and the yellow mark over the eye 

 is less distinct. Their nests, too, are placed in similar 

 positions, and are formed of like materials, but the eggs 

 are very distinct, those of the willow warbler having the 

 ground of a pinkish^ white, closely freckled with light 

 rusty brown, while the chiffchaff's have the ground 

 a pure white, and are very sparingly^ speckled with 



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