Wild Birds Useful and Injurious. 
63 
Three smaller warblers deserve a passing notice — namely, the 
Wood-wren or Wood-warbler ( Phylloscopus sibilatrix ), the Willow- 
wren or Willow-warbler (P. trochilus ), and the Chiffchaff (P. 
collybita). They closely resemble each other in plumage and 
size, though the wood-wren is the largest of the three, measuring 
five inches and a quarter in length, and the chiffchaff is the 
least, measuring only four and three-quarter inches. So great 
is their resemblance to each other that good observers, who 
have acquired their knowledge of Nature by outdoor study un- 
aided by books, though perfectly familiar with the distinctive 
notes of these three small warblers, often think that the various 
sounds proceed from one species, to which they apply some 
local name, such as that of yellow-wren, ground-wren, oven- 
bird, or miller’s-thumb. The notes may perhaps be recognised 
from the following descriptions. That of the wood-wren has 
been rendered by Blyth : “ Twit, twit, twit, tit, tit, tit, ti-ti-ti-i-i-i, 
beginning slow, but gradually becoming quicker and quicker, 
until it dies away in a kind of trill,” accompanied by a peculiar 
quivering of the wings. Of the willow-wren’s song Hewitson 
says “ there is a simplicity and a sweet cadence about the note 
of this species which never fails to excite within me feelings of 
pleasure, which none but the lover of Nature can either appre- 
ciate or understand, but which are to him amongst the chief 
enjoyments of his life” — a passage the truth of which will be 
admitted by any naturalist. The song cannot be further de- 
scribed in print, but it is loud for the size of the bird, and in 
the springtime, when several willow-wrens are singing within 
hearing, the woods are delightfully enlivened by their strains. 
The chiffchaff on its arrival contents itself with repeating 
perseveringly the two syllables of its name from morning till 
night, though after a while the monotony is somewhat varied by 
a change which may be represented thus : “ cherry chiffchaff, 
cherry cherry chiffchaff.” 
The nests of the three species, constructed externally of hay, 
dead leaves, and moss, are covered in or domed, with an entrance 
at the side, and are placed on or very near the ground. Those 
of the willow-warbler and chiffchaff are nearly always lined 
with feathers, whilst the wood-wren is never known to employ 
this material. As with most birds, freaks of fancy occasionally 
occur in the choice of a nesting site, and both the willow- 
wren and the chiffchaff have been known to build their nests 
several feet from the ground. I knew, for instance, of a chiff- 
chaff’s nest in a yew-tree, built near the extremity of a branch, 
and more than six feet from the ground. 
The food of these small warblers consists of insects in all 
