62 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



fancied resemblance of its notes to the words ' ' Chiff Chaff/' 

 which are uttered with a quick, clear enunciation ; the 

 song is sweet and not unmelodious, and when alarmed the 

 bird has a note of displeasure which sounds something like 

 the word " whoo-id " or " whoo-it." 



Woods, hedgerows, plantations, gardens, and the reeds 

 and bushes that skirt or overhang streams and ponds are 

 the favourite haunts of the Chiff Chaff, and in such places 

 it may be seen flitting quickly from tree to tree, or rapidly 

 moving along the branches or reeds with a peculiar jerky 

 motion of the body, which cannot very well be mistaken. 

 It may, however, be met with in gardens near the coast in 

 the autumn, but only for a day or two previous to migra- 

 tion. 



The food of this bird comprises caterpillars, aphides, 

 moths, flies, and other insects, which are frequently 

 captured during flight. Chiff Chaffs are much addicted 

 to certain localities, and in the spring-time keep pretty 

 much to the same haunts. 



The nest is made of various materials, and seems to 

 depend a great deal upon the character of the place in 

 which it is built. It is to be found in low banks, in 

 bushes about a foot from the ground, in the stump of 

 some old mossy tree, or even amongst the long grass found 

 near furzes or bramble. It is built of moss, the skeletons 

 of dead leaves, grasses, hay -stalks, and very often the bark 

 of the birch tree, and may be lined with wool, feathers, 

 and hair. It is skilfully arched, or domed, about half-way 

 over, and left open at the side. 



Six or seven eggs are laid in May ; they are rounded at 

 the larger and pointed at the smaller end. The colour is 

 a pinky- white ground with dots and spots of a blackish- 



