9838 Birds. 



the banks of the dykes in the spring. There was generally a little tuft 

 of this material overhanging the nest, so as to screen it from sight, and 

 sometimes a little underneath to form a foundation, but the outer edge 

 of the nest was wound round the reeds, exactly in the same manner as 

 that of S. arundinacea: these nests were built of dry grass, put together 

 in rather a frail manner, and were quite different from those built in 

 young willows or low bushes, which generally contained a good deal 

 of moss, were much shallower and far more bulky. I mention these 

 few facts because the difference in construction was remarkable, and 

 because some people assert that S. salicaria does not build in reeds. 

 The prevailing number of eggs is five, and these vary much in size, 

 some I have 8| lines long by 6^ lines broad, while others are 7| lines 

 by 6 lines. Though they vary a little in colour they all have the little 

 dark streak at the larger end. A nest found near here was accidentally 

 cut down by a boy who was thinning an osier-bed ; he placed it in a 

 young willow, some distance off, and the next day I found the old 

 bird sitting as closely as if the nest had never been disturbed. 



Reed IVaihler. — Great numbers of this lively little bird frequent 

 the reeds, which grow in great profusion in the dykes intersecting the 

 marshes in the vicinity of this coast. They are very plentiful in 

 Canvey Island, and thread their way among the reed-beds, hopping 

 from one stalk to another with great rapidity. About the 15th of 

 May they begin to build. It would not perhaps be superfluous to say 

 a iew words about the beautifully constructed nest of this clever little 

 architect: it is suspended in the reeds, fixed generally to two or three 

 of them, at a height of eighteen inches or two feet from the water, and, 

 as far as ray experience goes, is always placed over the centre of the 

 ditch — that is, three or four feet from the edge. I have found half-a- 

 dozen in a space of a H^iv; hundred yards, and I observed that this rule 

 was never departed from. The structure is very deep for its width, 

 the interior measuring 2^ inches deep by \^ inch in breadth; this 

 precaution being taken to prevent the eggs rolling out when the reeds 

 are swayed to and fro by the wind. The materials used are fine dead 

 grasses, mixed with a little wool, which is used mostly to finish off 

 the top of the nest, the whole being woven together very compactly. 

 The bottom of the nest extends downwards to a considerable depth, 

 giving the whole an oblong form. A kv! of the outer blades of grass 

 in the structure are twined round three or four reeds in such a manner 

 that, though these form ample support for the nest, they fall out when 

 gently pulled after it is cut down. One nest was found in a flowering 

 thorn, fixed by two thick arras of grass beautifully wound round two 



