632 



" The single nest that was not in sedges was in a tuft of the spiky rush so common in wet 

 ground. In this case (the first one, found by Mr. Denison) the bird flew off — the only instance 

 in which it did so, as tbey creep off generally like a mouse. On one occasion I cut away all the 

 sedge round the nest, except just the patch in which it was built, as I wanted to shoot the bird 

 from the nest, to make certain of the identity of the eggs ; but even then, after watching the old 

 bird go into the nest, she would not fly off, but ran across the open space which I had cut away 

 till she gained the shelter of the uncut sedges. Much more frequently seen than Cetti's Warbler, 

 the greatest difficulty is in finding them when shot. If killed on the wing it is almost hopeless 

 to look for them ; and those that I did obtain I have to thank my dog for finding, though he did 

 spoil one or two. They are most easy to be got in the morning and evening, when the male 

 perches on a sallow bush or tall reed, and sings his grasshopper-like song or rather whirr. I 

 only found them in one particular locality : in other marshes, very similar in appearance, I failed 

 to hear or see them ; and they probably require a very large extent of sedge. 



"The eggs are of a whitish ground-colour, marked all over with minute spots of brown, 

 thicker at the larger end, often forming a well-marked zone. Sometimes the ground-colour is 

 buff; but I only saw two or three of this hue." 



Having deemed it best to figure a British-killed specimen, as the bird was first discovered 

 here, I have figured an adult bird in the collection of Messrs. Salvin and Godman from Whittlesea 

 mere, and a nestling from Andalucia, obtained by Colonel Irby, these being also the specimens 

 described. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 



E Mus. II. E. Dresser. 



a, 2 . Ouderkerk, Holland, May 28th, 1857 (/. Baker), b. Holland, 1862 (J. Baker), c, 6 ■ Near Gibraltar, 

 Spain, May 6th, 1874 (H. L. Irby). d, ?. Near Gibraltar, May 2nd, 1874 {H. L. Irby). e,pull. Near 

 Gibraltar, May 13th, 1874 {H. L. Irby). 



E Mus. A. C. Stark, 

 a ?, b, d . Near Gibraltar, Spain, May 1874 (A. C. S.). 



E Mus. Salvin and Godman. 



a. Whittlesea mere, near Cambridge, b. Wicken, Cambridgeshire, June 15th, 1817. c, d, J, e, $. Holland 

 (J. Baker), f. Zana, Algeria 1857 (0. Salvin). 



E Mus. Howard Saunders. 



a. Troughton's sale. b. Holland, 1865 (J. Baker). c,juv. Holland {Baker), d. Near Malaga, August 8th, 

 1872 (bird of the year). 



