WOOD WARBLER. BPATE 
food appears to be insects and their larvee ; some are taken 
on the wing, and others are sought for among the upper 
foliage of trees. The nest is oval, and domed over, always 
placed on the ground among herbage, and is formed of 
dry grass, dead leaves, and some moss, and invariably 
lmed with finer grass and long hairs, but no feathers, 
which are used as lining to some extent by both the other 
species of this genus, and serve to distinguish their nests, 
which are also placed on the ground, from that of the 
Wood Warbler. 
This bird lays six eggs, white, spotted, and speckled all 
over, almost hiding the ground colour, with dark purple 
red and ash colour; the eggs eight lines in length by six 
lines in breadth. 
The Wood Warbler is not uncommon in the metro- 
politan counties, and visits also all those to the south and 
the west as far as Devonshire; but though Colonel Mon- 
tagu includes Cornwall also, I am unable to quote any 
recent authority for its appearance in that county lately. 
It is found in Wales, but has not been identified to a cer- 
tainty as a visitor to Ireland. It is rare in Cambridge- 
shire, as observed by Mr. Jenyns, but is found in Suffolk, 
Norfolk, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Durham, and Northum- 
berland ; but I am not aware of any record of its appear- 
ance in Scotland. M. Nilsson includes this species among 
the summer visitors to Sweden, but considers it rare; it is 
also rare in the more northern parts of Europe generally ; 
but is common in Germany, Holland, France, and Pro- 
vence, quitting Genoa and Italy, Sicily and Malta, by the 
end of September, and passing the winter, according to S. 
Savi, in Egypt and Asia. 
The adult male has the beak blackish brown, but lighter 
in colour along the edges of the mandibles; the irides 
