A HISTORY OF WORCESTERSHIRE 



named, and it is not heard in the rubbish of 

 a hedge or ditch, but more frequently from 

 some tree or tall bush. The nest, which is 

 extremely fragile, but nevertheless a very beau- 

 tiful structure, is almost alw^ays placed at some 

 little distance from the ground, sometimes in- 

 deed high enough to enable the obsen'er to 

 walk under it and see the eggs through the 

 bottom. 



1 6. Blackcap. Sylvia atricapilla (Linn.). 

 The blackcap is one of our early summer 



visitors, but as his song is not heard on his 

 arrival his first appearance is unobserved. 

 When however in Aill song his sweet wild 

 melody proclaims his presence. Although 

 somewhat of a mimic his music will never 

 be taken for that of any other bird, for how- 

 ever much he may imitate, his finishing notes 

 are always his own and quite unmistakable. 



17. Garden- Warbler. Sylvia hortensis {^tzh- 



steiii). 

 This bird is never so common as the 

 blackcap, is more strictly a sylvan species, 

 and certainly not, as the name implies, a fre- 

 quenter of gardens. The song is a low, sweet 

 and continuous warble, but has none of the 

 wild music of the blackcap's. 



18. Dartford Warbler. Sylvia undata (Bod- 



daert). 

 I am unable to add anything to the state- 

 ment made many years ago by Hastings of 

 the occurrence of this bird at Springhill, near 

 Broadway, excepting to observ'e that the 

 brakes of furze which are there of consi- 

 derable extent are very suitable to the 

 habits of this species. 



19. Goldcrest. Regului crntatm^Y^.l^.YiQzh. 

 We have a considerable number of gold- 

 crests which breed with us, and the place for 

 which preference is shown for the nest is the 

 horizontal bough of a yew. Other evergreen 

 trees are resorted to, such as the spruce fir, 

 and even ivy-clad trees and bushes are some- 

 times selected. There is not, however, any 

 doubt that the greater number of these small 

 birds observed in Great Britain in the win- 

 ter are autumn visitors which depart in the 

 spring. The goldcrest is not uncommonly 

 seen throughout the winter in the company 

 of tits searching among the branches and 

 sprigs of trees in woods and coppices, and 

 uttering its small plaintive note, so unlike 

 its merry song of the breeding season. 



[Firecrest. Regulus ignicapillm (Brehm). 

 On two occasions at least this species has 

 been met with in near proximity to the county 



of Worcester, once at Weston-on-Avon, and 

 once at Dorsington, both places in the north- 

 east corner of Gloucestershire, and by the side 

 of the Avon. The first was seen by the pre- 

 sent writer in a large ivy-grown hedge, and 

 being shot proved to be a male, and the second 

 was also seen and recognized but not shot. It 

 is also reported to have occurred near Worces- 

 ter. The motions of both more nearly resem- 

 bled those of a tit than of a goldcrest.] 



20. ChiffchafF. Phylloscopus rufus (Bechstein). 

 A common summer visitor, though not so 



abundant in Worcestershire as the willow- 

 warbler. It is our very earliest migrant, 

 having been heard in the vale of the Avon 

 as soon as the last day of February. That 

 was in 1 846, when the writer both heard and 

 saw one busily engaged in searching some 

 hawthorn bushes for insect food. 



21. Willow- Warbler. Phylloscopus trochilus 

 (Linn.). 



Locally, Willow-Wren. 

 This bird so closely resembles the chifFchaff 

 as to be difficult to distinguish from it, yet 

 the two are quite distinct both in their song 

 and the coloration of the eggs. 



22. Wood -Warbler. Phylloscopus sibilatrix 

 (Bechstein). 



Locally, Wood-Wren. 

 Although bearing considerable resemblance 

 to the chiffchafF and willow-warbler the 

 present species will not be confounded with 

 them, being larger, and the wings relatively 

 smaller. It is much less abundant than either 

 of them, and appears to prefer trees in woods 

 and coppices rather than hedges or brakes, and 

 its song, which is a peculiar sort of trill, is 

 often heard from some tall tree, frequently 

 from its very top. The nest which, like 

 those of the chiffchafF and willow-warbler, 

 is on or near the ground and is domed, instead 

 of being lined with feathers is lined with 

 horse-hair. 



23. Reed - Warbler. Acrocephalus streperus 

 (Vieillot). 



As the name imports the present noisy little 

 bird frequents beds of reeds, and in fact a reed 

 bed is almost a necessity to it. Occasionally 

 it will be heard in osier aits or in beds of 

 willow-bushes, or indeed amongst other tall 

 plants, but only where there are no reeds. 

 The nest is always suspended between the 

 vertical stems of reeds, osiers, or other up- 

 right plants by the side of river or pond. Its 

 abundance or the reverse appears almost wholly 

 to depend on the presence or absence of reed 

 beds. 

 46 



