MARSH WARBLER. 
Salicaria palustris. 
Le Bec-fin verderolle. 
In its general contour this little bird so closely assimilates to the Sehcaria hirundinacea, that it would be 
impossible from the simple examination of preserved specimens to discover that they are specifically distinct : 
in their habits and manners and in the places to which they resort they are also very similar; but the yellow 
lining of the mouth, the enlarged size of the bill, and the greener tint of the plumage, are points by which 
the Marsh Warbler may at all times be distinguished from its near ally. <‘‘ Another characteristic of this 
species,” says M. Temminck, “is its song, which is singularly varied ; it has also considerable powers of 
mimicry, and readily imitates the song of other birds most completely, particularly that of Sylvia hippolais, as 
well as the notes of Charadrius mmor, and the piercing cry of the Hematopus ostralegus.” 
It generally inhabits humid and marshy situations in the neighbourhood of water, bordered with willows 
and reed-beds, but is also frequently observed perched upon the high stems of hemp and bushes. It is 
common in all the middle parts of Europe, and is abundant on the banks of the Po and the Danube, and also 
in some parts of Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. 
The nest is constructed with much art, is of a spherical form, and is placed on the ground among the roots 
of willows, reeds, and bushes; the eggs are four or five in number, of a clear ash, covered with spots of a 
bluish ash. 
Its food consists of insects and small berries. 
Crown of the head, all the upper surface, wing-coverts, secondaries, and tail greenish olive; primaries 
blackish brown ; stripe over the eye, throat, and all the under surface yellowish olive ; bill yellow at the base, 
black at the tip; feet lead colour. : 
We have figured an adult of the natural size. 
