GARDEN WARBLER. 39 
GARDEN WARBLER. 
Syivia saLicarta, Linn. 
Pl. IX., figs. 15, 17. 
_ Geogr. distr—Hurope up to 69° N. lat. in summer; 8. Africa in 
winter; in Asia extends as far east as the Ural range; common in 
England, and in Scotland as far as Banffshire; rarer in Ireland and 
Wales ; arrives in April or May, and leaves in September. 
Food.—Insects in all stages, spiders, berries, fruit, &. 
Nest.—Much like that of the Blackeap, but more slightly put 
together ; it is formed of goose-grass and other fibrous plants, with 
ces a little moss and wool, lined with fine roots and a few 
airs. 
Position of nest.—In low bushes and brambles in gardens and 
copses. 
Number of eggs.—4-5. 
Time of midification.—V-VIII; June. 
The song of this bird is wild, rapid, mellow, but irre- 
gular; the nest is almost as abundant as that of the 
Blackcap, and towards the end of May or beginning of 
June it may be confidently sought for amongst the under- 
growth in thickets and narrow woods; in such places I 
have taken a considerable number of their eggs, none of 
which, however, bear out Hewitson’s opinion, that eggs of 
this species occasionally have the rich colouring of the 
Blackcap; they have, indeed, been always coloured more 
or less like the three varieties figured on my plate, of which 
fig. 15 is the most usual form and fig. 17 a rare albino 
variety; when eggs of the Blackcap approach them in 
colouring, they are generally to be distinguished by their 
slightly superior size and a sprinkling of dark spots or 
splashes: this, however, is only the experience gained in 
about fifteen years’ collecting, almost wholly in one county, 
and therefore cannot be considered conclusive ; at the same 
time I have never passed by a single variety which I was 
not certain I possessed, and have, therefore, brought 
together a selected series far superior to many that I have 
seen in larger collections. 
The nest may be found, as Hewitson says, at the same 
season of the year as that of the Blackcap; but I have 
always found it about a fortnight or three weeks later. 
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