THE RED WARBLER. 3.59 



reddish-orange on the breast and flanks. The light streak 

 over the eye is dull in the female, and does not reach farther 

 back than the eye. The young males have the breast 

 mottled with the colours of both male and female ; but it is 

 probable that the colour changes without a moult, although 

 in the same feather : upon mature birds, the change to a 

 darker colour is less frequent than that to a lighter one. 



The red warbler is altogether about the same length as the 

 redbreast, a bird to which it bears a slight resemblance in its 

 general air ; but it is longer in the body, considerably more 

 slender, and better adapted for long flight. In form, as well 

 as in colour, it is one of the handsomest of our summer birds, 

 and it is at the same time one of the most interesting in its 

 manners. It is lighter than the redbreast, weighing less 

 than half an ounce. Its tarsi are shorter in proportion than 

 those of the redbreast, which mark it more as a bird of stony 

 places, as these in general have the tarsi short. The time of 

 its coming varies ; sometimes it appears in March, and some- 

 times not till the middle of April. 



Its habits are peculiar ; and though very lively in its ap- 

 pearance and motions, it is the bird of ruins in the warmer 

 districts, as much as the wheat-ear is the bird of sepulchral 

 cairns in the wilds. Deserted houses, mouldering walls, and 

 the hollow remains of trees, are its favourite nesting-places ; 

 the nest being formed of dry moss or grass, lined wholly or 

 with a mixture of hair or feathers. The eggs are numerous, 

 sometimes as many as eight. They are of a very light, but 

 clear greenish-blue. 



The bird is both familiar and shy : familiar as to general 

 hunting-place, for it visits gardens and courts, and even the 

 close vicinity of towns, and the squares and less frequented 

 streets. But it is continually hopping about, so that it is 

 not easily got sight of; and that has led to the supposition 

 that it is not so generally diffused as it really is. The 



