THE SEDGE-WARBLER. 

 Acrocephalus phragmitis (Bechstein). 

 Plate 8. 



The Sedge- Warbler arrives in this country during the last half of April, usually 

 a little earlier than the Reed-Warbler. It is by far the most numerous of the 

 aquatic Warblers and breeds over the greater part of the mainland of England and 

 Scotland, and also in the Orkneys. It is found in Barra, Outer Hebrides, although 

 absent in the Shetland Islands. Abroad it has a wide range from Norway south- 

 wards to central Italy, and eastwards through Russia to Siberia, wintering in 

 Africa. 



The nest, composed of grasses and moss, with a lining of finer material, horse- 

 hair, and feathers, contains five or six eggs, in ground colour buff, spotted with 

 brown or olive-buff, often streaked with dark, hair-like lines. 



It feeds on insects, and according to Naumann, in autumn it also eats elder- 

 berries. 



The Sedge-Warbler is an active restless bird, and has a harsh chiding song 

 which may be heard day and night, and into which it introduces various imitations 

 of the notes of other species. A characteristic of this bird is its habit of breaking 

 out into song, if suddenly disturbed by a stone being thrown into the cover where 

 it is concealed. 



It haunts sedgy and marshy ground, but may be found in hedges and planta- 

 tions far away from water. 



The Sedge- Warbler is easily distinguished from the Reed- and Marsh-Warbler 

 by the very distinct yellowish-white streak above the eye, and by the dark brown 

 feathers forming longitudinal stripes on the crown of the head. 



The female resembles, but is rather duller in colour than the male. 



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