CAGE AND SINGING BIRDS. 
45 
willow wren, from the circumstance of its frequenting* reeds 
and rushes by river sides, where willow trees best flourish : 
this it does for the sake of the gnats and flies which abound 
there in the summer. 
This bird builds a very elaborate nest of birch bai^k, dried 
plants, cocoon silk, and wool, edged round the upper mar 
gin with feathers, and lined with fine grass stalks ; the eggs, 
about five in number, are at first of a light red colour, but 
become darker after a few days; they are spotted with dark 
red. 
This is a difficult bird to catch, being* exceedingly shy ; 
limed twigs round the nest, Bechstein says, is a sure but 
cruel method : in autumn, springes baited with currants are 
often successful. If reared from the nest, ants' eggs and 
bullocks' heart, boiled and grated, is the best food. Care 
must be taken to keep the younglings warm, and not 
remove them from place to place, as, if they perceive a differ- 
ence in their habitation, they will frequently pine and die. 
The old birds, when taken, may be turned loose in 
the aviary ; they will readily eat bruised hemp -seed and 
bread, or bread and milk, especially if some aphides, or 
other tempting delicacy, be sprinkled over it. Bechstein's 
account differs from this, as he describes the bird in con- 
finement as rarely eating anything except insects, and only 
being induced, after much time and trouble, to feed upon 
the nightingale's food. He speaks of it as not only a hand- 
some little bird, as in truth it is, with its plumes of gray, 
olive, and yellow, but also a melodious songster, with notes 
flute-like and varied, some of them being* long-drawn and 
plaintive, others short and sonorous. While singing, its 
throat is very much distended. Its common call is Dali- 
dak I Feed-hoi! Feed-hoi! 
THE WHINCHAT. 
Sometimes called the furzechat. This is an active, 
sprightly little bird, with a song naturally pleasing*, though 
quick and hurried. It arrives in this country in April, and 
leaves it again somewhat earlier than most of the summer 
migrants. It generally resorts to the commons and v/aste 
places where furze bushes abound ; it is also frequently 
fouji*^ ' the outskirts of forests, and sides of ravines and 
