90 THE COMMON TREE-WARBLER. 



Europe, over the greater part of France, and in 

 the Spanish Peninsula, the place of H. hy- 

 polais is taken by a closely allied species, 

 H. polyglotta, a bird which may also be con- 

 fidently expected to visit the British Islands 

 some day, though it is not of such wide-reaching 

 migratory habits as the Common-Tree Warbler, 

 and is not known to go further south than 

 Senegambia in winter. 



These Tree- Warblers, which are also called in 

 many books on Natural History, •' Melodious 

 Willow Warblers," appertain to the group of small 

 green species known as Phylloscopi or Leaf- 

 Warblers. To the genus Phylloscopus belong our 

 three familiar birds, the Wood- Warbler {P. sibila- 

 trix), the Willow Warbler (P. trochilus), and the 

 Chiff-chaff {P. minor), delicately formed little 

 species, of a sober green and white coloration, 

 laying white eggs with reddish spots, and building 

 domed nests on, or near, the ground. The Tree- 

 Warblers, on the other hand, build a beautiful 

 cup-shaped nest in the fork of a tree, and lay 

 unmistakeable eggs of a vinous or pinkish stone- 

 colour, with a few scratches or lines of black or 

 purplish-brown. 



