2 6 Summer Studies of Birds and Books chap. 



and tail. He seems to come nearest to the Wood- 

 wren among these three Phylloscopi in two other 

 particulars ; his song is not unlike the Wood- wren's 

 " shivering " strain, and he uses no feathers in the 

 lining of his domed nest. I found this nest in 1889, 

 after a long hunt in wet grass in a wood; it was 

 on very steep ground, in a hole under a projecting 

 stone, and contained one egg, dull white in ground- 

 colour, with rich chocolate -coloured spots, chiefly at 

 the thicker end. At Thun my friend's sharp eyes 

 found it almost directly, in a very similar position 

 on steep ground in a wood ; the eggs had been 

 already hatched. 



This modest little warbler is essentially the 

 Phylloscopus of the Alps. Just as with us the 

 Willow -wren is far the commonest of its group, 

 and may seem almost to be crowding out the 

 Chiffchaff and the Wood - wren, so in the Alps 

 Bonelli is to be found everywhere, the other three 

 only here and there. I have only heard the 

 Willow - wren in the flat of the valleys, where 

 Bonelli is not often to be found ; but on all shady 

 hill- sides the latter is quite abundant, and you 

 have him with you from the moment of leaving 

 the valley, up to a height of four or even five 

 thousand feet. This is clearly a hardy bird, and 

 one that has been long known to be extending his 

 range northwards. He is to be found in Southern 



