124 THE SPECIES. 



Surnia. Plate xiii. STRIGIDAL. 



t66. vhila, 14 in. Hawk Owl. No disk ; no tufts ; no opcrcTiIum ; 



plumage dark brown above spotted with wliite ; 

 face white ; lower parts finely streaked wit'i brown ; 

 tail graduated and tipped with white ; legs covered 

 with greyish feathers. 

 The Hawk Owl — Dimensions, Lr ; Eggs, Kl — is a rare visitor. In flight he resembles a 

 hawk, and he hunts his prey in daylight. 



Sylvia. Plates ii. iii. TURDINAl (Passeridce). 



24. curruca, 5J in. Lessek Whitethroat. Back grey ; throat white ; 



legs bluish. 

 23 cinerea, 5^ in. Whitethroat. Back brown ; throat white ; legs 



brown. 



27. horiefjsis, 5^ in. Garden Warbler. Pale eye stripe ; legs blue. 

 26. atricapilla, sf in. BLACKCAP. Crown black ; tail brown. 



25. orphea, 6 in. Ori'hean Warbler. Crown and sides of face 



blpLck ; tail brown and wliite. 



28. visoria, 6J in. BARRED Wakbler. Throat and breast barred 



with brown. 



The Lesser Whitethroat — Dimensions, Bh ; Eggs, At — has been found here from April to 

 November, but the return generally takes place in September, Jtis a slenderer bird than 

 the Whitethroat, and has yellowish white eyes and black ear coverts. It has a dipping fliRhi 

 when fairly on the wing, but is generally noticed darting and hopping about the hiplier 

 branches of trees. The call is "chick," and the song a monotonous "sip, sip, sip." The 

 female is smaller than the male and has the head browner and the lower plumage tinged with 

 grey. The nest is low in a hedgerow, and is a shallow structure of grass and rootlets, 

 bound together with cobwebs, and cocoons, and hair. It contains four or five eggs. 



The Whitethroat — Dimensions, Bs ; Eggs, Ck — is one of our commonest summer migrants. 

 It is a busy, inquisitive, brisk sort of bird, almost as fearless as a robin, hofping about 

 unwearyingly on the hedge tops, fluttering after insects, and occasionally soaring up almost 

 perpendicularly, singing as it goes. Its call is " lueet, lueet " ; its alarm is " shuh," or 

 " cha, cha, cha " ; and it has a sweet little song, to give due emphasis to which when he is at 

 rest he raises the feathers of his crown. The female lias no rosy tinge on her breast. The 

 nest is in thick herbage near the ground. It is a slight shallow structure of grass, galium, 

 and hair, and it contains from four to six eggs. 



The Garden Warbler — Dimensions, Ca ; Eggs, Dn — i-< another of our summer migrants, 

 arriving in the beginning of May, It has a short, rapid flight, but is of rather retired habits 

 and does not often take to the wing. Its call is *' check "; its song is rather like a Blackbird's, 

 but more hurried and capricious. The female has buff" axillaries like the male, but is rather 

 paler. The nest is generally among thick brambles, and close to the ground. It is a slightly 

 built firm affair of galium, grass, rootlets, cobwebs, and horsehair, containing four or five 

 eggs. 



The Blackcap — Dimensions, Cq ; Eggs, Dj — is one of our residents, but is also, and to a 

 great extent, a summer migrant. He has a short rapid flight from bush to bush, but dips a 

 good deal when fully under way. His call is " tac tic." He is our best native songster, 

 lull, deep, and wild, beginning with two or three double notes and working up to a loud, 

 varied, and continuous triJl. " He has caught from the Blackbird his rich mellow tone, from 

 the Skylark his melody shrill, and the notes of the Woodlark, the Thrush, and his own he 

 varies and blends at will." The female has a brown cap. The nest is near the ground in 

 bushes and brambles ; it is neatly but slightly built of galium, grass, rootlets, and cocoons, 

 with a little hair, and contains from four to six eggs. 



The Orphean Warbler — Dimensions, Dg ; Eggs, De — is occasionally seen and more often 

 heard of in this country. It was first recorded in 1848. 



A Barred Warbler — Dimensions, Eb ; Eggs, Ek — was shot near Cambridge forty years 

 ago, and_ there have been a few recorded here since. It can always be identified by its 

 eyes, which are of such a pale yellow as to be taken to be white. 



Symium. Plate xiii. STRIGIDAi, 



164. aluco, 18 in. Tawny Owr,. Facial disk complete ; no plumi- 



corns ; operculum large ; plumage reddish brown 

 above with much white below ; 23 remiges, fourth 

 and fifth primaries longest ; feet feathered to the 

 claws, which are whitish at base and brownish at tip. 



