Birds. 2347 



being one of our regular migrants in the South of England. I think it can hardly be 

 doubted that the number of the species, arranged under the third section (Muscivores) 

 of Temminck 's genus " Bee-fin," which are to be found in some parts of England, is 

 not yet accurately determined. The small size of the birds, the general similarity of 

 their appearance, and their retiring habits, are quite sufficient to throw a degree of 

 obscurity over the group ; and when we find Temminck saying of the figures of such 

 an ornithologist as Gould, that his willow wren (Sylvia trochilus) and his chiff-chaff 

 (S. hippolais) are both willow wrens (see ' Manuel d'Ornithologie,' vol. iii. page 153), 

 humbler naturalists may certainly be excused if they have confounded one species of 

 this section with another. But I write at present to inquire if the egg of the true 

 Sylvia hippolais (Temminck's Bee-fin a poitrine jaune) is known with certainty. I 

 have long thought, from some acquaintance with the nidification and eggs of this 

 group of birds, that the number of species commonly allotted to England was insuffi- 

 cient ; and I have considered the determining of the nest and egg of each species, 

 with accuracy, to be worth some attention, as being likely to assist in fixing the num- 

 ber of the species. My observations have been made, not on specimens furnished by 

 egg dealers, but on those procured by myself or my friends, at various times, through- 

 out a period of many years, in the natural habitats of the birds ; and the conclusion I 

 have arrived at is, that I possess the eggs of four distinct species. It is veiy possible 

 that I am mistaken in my opinion, for I have not been a " bird-shooter " as well as a 

 " bird-nester," and therefore I have not any anatomical examination of the birds them- 

 selves, wherewith to support my conclusions with respect to their eggs ; but I will 

 briefly describe my four varieties, and shall be glad of any information tending either 

 to confirm or confute my views on the subject. The nest of the willow wren (S. tro- 

 chilus), which is far more frequently found than that of either of the other species, is 

 always constructed on the ground, as far as my observation goes. The materials are, 

 generally, moss, dry grass and feathers. The eggs vary very considerably in size, 

 shape and markings, but the colour of the markings is always the same, — that is, they 

 are of different shades of brick-red. I possess specimens covered all over uniformly 

 with pale freckles ; and others passing through all the gradations from that appear- 

 ance up to large dark blotches round the thick end. The nest of the wood wren (S. 

 sibilatrix) is also, as far as I have seen, built on the ground ; though Temminck says 

 that it is formed likewise in the trunks of old trees. The external materials are pretty 

 much the same as those of the willow wren, but the lining is said to be generally fine 

 grass or horse-hair. The eggs are thickly covered over with spots and marks of deep 

 purple. The nest that usually passes for that of the chiff-chaff, the S. hippolais of 

 English authors, is almost always placed in a low bush, where it is mingled with tall 

 grass and weeds, and at an elevation of about a foot from the ground. The eggs are 

 clear white, with a very few purple spots. The form of all three of the varieties above 

 described is more or less oblong. The appearance of the fourth variety differs mate- 

 rially from all these. I never knew it to be found anywhere but in the neighbourhood 

 of Bristol ; neither have I ever seen any specimens of it except such as came from 

 that neighbourhood. When I resided near that city, twenty years ago, we used to 

 find a nest in my father's garden now and then, but not very frequently. These nests 

 were always constructed in the grass, if my recollection serves me right, and generally 

 under the overhanging edges of the turf-borders of the walks through the shrubberies. 

 They were true wren's nests, arched over, and with the entrance-hole in the side. The 

 eggs were invariably almost globular, five or six in number, and of a pure milk-white. 



