CXVIII. 



SYLVIA HTPPOLAIS. (Lath.) 



Chifi- Chaff. 



lIowKVKR monotonous the voice of the Chiff-ChaflT may 

 sound when mingled with the rich melody of the various 

 Warblers, there is a time at which it brings with it a 

 delightfid welcome, when its cheerful sound bursts upon 

 the ear as the first notice of the arrival of our feathered 

 friends, at a time when the primrose and the violet are first 

 rearing their beautiful forms upon the earth — to tell us that 

 the woods will soon be green, and that the cold joyless 

 winter will again give place to the delights of summer. 



The Chifl-Chaff comes to us before the insects have left 

 their winter hiding-places, when there is not a green leaf 

 to cover its graceful form. 



Its aiTival usually takes place in March, and Mr. Neville 

 Wood informs me, that he has heard its note as early as the 

 5th of February. Montague likewise mentions January 

 and February as its earliest appearance. 



It breeds towards the end of May, or beginning of June, 

 and considering the abundance of the species, it is not easy 

 to account for the difficulty in procuring its eggs. Amongst 

 the numbers of nests of the Willow Wren, which I have 

 found at various times, I have never met ^Wth more than two 

 or three of those of the Chiff-Chaff ; many of my corres- 

 pondents to whom I have applied to procure me some of the 

 eggs, in hopes of meeting vnih varieties, have expressed to 

 me the same difficulty. 



The nest is very similar to that of the Willow Wren, being 

 composed of dried grass, dead leaves, and moss, lined pro- 

 fusely with feathers ; its situation is, however, usually some- 



