WARBLER. 51 



passing almost to the hindhead ; beneath this the cheeks are blackish ; 

 chin white; the rest of the under parts rufous white, deeper on the 

 breast ; on the wings, near the shoulder, a transverse white mark, and 

 another, smaller, on the outer edge, near the bastard wing ; tail 

 white for two-thirds next the base, the rest of the length black ; the 

 two middle feathers wholly black ; legs black. 



The female is paler, the spots on the wings and trace over the 

 eye less conspicuous; and instead of black, the sides of the head are 

 the same in colour as the other parts. 



This is not uncommon in England ; seen with the Stone-Chat on 

 Heaths during summer, where it breeds ; the nest is placed on the 

 ground, and formed of dried bents, and a little moss, much as in 

 the Stone Chatter ; the eggs five or six, and bluish. 



It seems to be less common than the following, and in the 

 northern parts of England disappears in winter. We have, however, 

 seen it in Kent, the whole of the year. The greater part, therefore, 

 may be supposed to migrate, or at least shift quarters, but some 

 few remain behind. We certainly do not find this bird in plenty 

 till the middle of April, and chiefly in places where furze grows; 

 hence by some called Furze-Chat. It is singular too, that it should 

 so very rarely be seen in Devonshire and Cornwall, but the same is 

 the case with some others of the Summer Warblers, giving reason to 

 suppose, that they arrive and depart from our eastern coasts, and from 

 thence spread more or less throughout England.* 



This species is said to be common throughout the Continent of 

 Europe, in France, Italy, and Germany, the more temperate parts 

 of Russia, and even as far as the Uralian Chain, yet not reaching 

 any part of Siberia ;f but in general is more common than the Stone- 

 Chatter. The food is chiefly insects ; will also catch flies, which it 

 seizes on the wing like the Flycatcher : the flesh is thought by some 



* Appears on the Isthmus of Gibraltar, and sometimes on the hill in spring and sum- 

 mer, but disappears entirely in winter. — White. 



t According to Linnaeus it is found in Spitsbergen. 



H 2 



