BRITISH WARBLERS 



It may be remembered that some of the young are stronger 

 than others, and that one will often make a short excursion 

 into the reed bed a day or so before the nest is finally deserted, 

 eventually returning. Upon a young wanderer thus returning 

 I have seen the remaining birds in the nest just as excited and 

 expectant as if it were a parent arriving with food, stretching 

 out their necks and not realising the position even when the 

 wanderer was elbowing its way amongst them. Whether 

 the young after having deserted the nest return in the evening 

 to roost I cannot say. For a while they keep close to one 

 another in the reeds, but they soon become scattered, and 

 when a reed bed is inhabited by a number of pairs one can 

 hear the plaintive call-note of the young proceeding from 

 every direction. At this age they are difficult to find and 

 difficult to catch, for, though unable to fly, they travel quickly 

 by hopping from one reed-stem to another. In wet weather, 

 or when the dew has been exceptionally heavy, which in July 

 is often the case, their appearance is most pitiable, as their 

 feathers are bedraggled with the water which collects on the 

 reeds in such a quantity, especially at the junction of the leaf 

 to the stem. I once, after some delay owing to the difficulty 

 in locating the sound, found a young one which could only 

 haye left the nest very recently, perched upon a large branch 

 of an alder in such a position that it was impossible to see it 

 when standing directly underneath. The weather at the time 

 was wet and the condition of the little creature was most 

 miserable. It had but few feathers on its body and they were 

 so bedraggled as to be of little use. How, in such a plight, it 

 climbed so high from the ground it is difficult to understand. 

 It is probable that the young are more hardy than those of 

 many other species, for they may be found in a similar con- 

 dition more or less every morning, and although the feathers 

 dry very rapidly in the sun, yet it must require an excep- 

 tionally robust constitution to withstand so constant a 

 drenching ; possibly many do succumb to cold and exposure. 

 How the parents feed their offspring when thus scattered, and 



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