THE CHIFF-CHAFF. 



53 



I have never met with the nest ; but it is said to be built on the 

 ground amongst fallen leaves, domed, with a side entrance, and lined 

 with feathers- The eggs are said to be four to seven, white, with 

 reddish black dots most crowded at the larger end. 



Temminck must surely be in error, when he says it builds in the old 

 holes of the mole, as he undoubtedly is in saying it chiefly inhabits 

 pine forests. This it may certainly do, on account of the aphides 

 there, but it is also not uncommon in small copses, in Kent; and, last 

 summer, I knew one which haunted a hedge, at Lee, not very near 

 any wood. I have watched this bird by the hour, running up and 

 down the branches hunting for insects, and repeating its simple chip, 

 chop, or, as Bechstein gives it, zip, zap. T heard one in Prince Maxi- 

 milian's garden, at Neuwied, and a great many in the woods and copses 

 on the Rhine. Bechstein says, they come occasionally into gardens. 



I had two of these birds brought to me alive, at Bonn, and carried 

 them with me to England, where they were the tamest birds of fifty 

 others in my aviary. Contrary to the statement of most books, my 

 birds were as fond of fruit as the black cap or white throat : elder-ber- 

 ries, grapes, ripe pears, and roasted apples were all welcome. But though 

 they are said to stand the cold well, my little favourites both died 

 through cold, in one night, in November, even when it did not freeze. 



My friend, Mr. Blyth, has furnished me with stuffed specimens of 

 a young and an old bird, termed the chiff-chaff, by the London dealers, 

 which I do not know how to dispose of. It is very similar to the wood 

 wren {Sylvia sibilatrix, Bechstein), but of a brighter yellow. Unless 

 this bird, however, is well ascertained to utter the same chip, chop, as 

 T. rufa, I must consider it to be either a variety of the wood wren, or 

 an undescribed species. I shall do my best to ascertain its history 

 the ensuing summer. The following figures, which have been care- 

 fully drawn from my specimens, of the natural size, will show the 

 differences of these several birds with respect to the bills. 



Hay Bird. Chiff- chaff (T. Rufa.) Wood Wren, 



