OLIVE TREE WARBLER. 143 



figure. When its song betrays its whereabouts, it can hardly be distin- 

 guished from the shining olive trees, being like them, above greenish grey, 

 below whitish — a beautiful adaptation, and one frequently met with, by 

 which nature seems to protect her living creatures from the ruthless and 

 often cruel and wanton destroyer. 



It moves constantly about among the trees, and carefully shuns water- 

 reeds and bushes. 



It builds in the olive trees, and fastens its nest to a branch, having a 

 twig going through it. The nest is pretty substantial, being formed of 

 grass and lined with thistle-down, which makes it warmer, while it is even 

 more eles^ant than that of most other Warblers. 



The eggs are three or four in number, long oval, grey, with a rosy red- 

 dish gloss, which wears out when the egg is kept, and dark brown large 

 angular spots, between which are scattered small dots. Count Miihle 

 supposes they only breed once in the year. 



Brehm, in Biideker's work on European eggs, gives a description in all 

 essential particulars the same as that above. He says, "The nest is built 

 with dry grass blades and panicles, with down of plants woven through- 

 out, and lined with S23iders' webs, small rootlets, and horse-hair, or thistle- 

 down. The nest is exposed to view on a small branch of the olive tree; 

 it contains four eggs, laid in the end of May or beginning of June, which 

 are of a dull rosy red, on a grey ground, with black grey spots, and 

 blackish dots and scrolls. 



I take the description from Count Miihle. 



" This bird is, when seen flying, in shape and plumage like Sylvia 

 orpJiea, or nisoria, in their spring dress, from both of which, 

 however, it is distinguished by its strong beak, broad at the root, 

 having the upper mandible horn-colour, and the lower orange yellow. 

 The head and the whole of the upper parts of the body are grey, 

 tinted with olive, which especially predominates on the upper tail 

 coverts. A distinct conspicuous streak of greyish white from the 

 nostrils to the eyes. The chin, root of lower mandible, and especially 

 the upper mandible, between the nostrils and the angle of the 

 mouth, clothed with bristly hairs. The wings grey black, with a 

 greyish gloss or polish on them; the lesser coverts have broad greyish 

 borders. 



The other feathers of the wings edged with white, which forms a 

 large border on the primaries and great posterior coverts. The 

 tail is slate grey, underneath paler; the first quill bordered with 

 white, the second with a white spot at the end, and white edge on 

 the inner barb; the third and fourth have only a small whitish spot 

 at the tip. The whole under part of the body is white, with a 



