240 BIRDS' NESTS. 



from its habit of frequenting hedges, and the 

 sides of fields overgrown with brambles, nettles, 

 and other such coarse herbage. In such situa- 

 tions it builds its nest, raised from two to 

 three feet above the ground, and constructed 

 of dry stems of herbs and bents, mixed with 

 spiders' webs, cotton from the willow, and bits 

 of wool, and with fine grass and horse-hair. 

 The eggs are usually five, three quarters of an 

 inch long, and about ] m &an inch broad, of a 

 dull green hue, mottled and spotted with several 

 shades of olive. The short conversational song 

 of the male in the breeding season, as he rises 

 from the top of a bush a few feet into the air 

 and alights on some neighbouring bush, is very 

 remarkable. 



SEDGE WARBLER. Salicaria Phragmitis. 



PLATE XXI. FIG. 2. 



DURING the whole of its stay with us, from 

 April to September, this bird frequents the 

 banks of rivers, especially such as are lined with 

 reeds, flags, or low willows. He is a most perse- 



