MR. W. W. FOWLKR ON BIRDS OF THE VALLEY OF THE SOMME. 447 
well as in one considerable canal with a towing-path. This is, of 
course, a comfortable home for the whole tribe of Reed Warblers, 
and we had the pleasure of hearing our old friend the Marsh 
Warbler within an hour of our arrival, — the only time I have 
heard it before the beginning of June. Roth Reed Warblers 
were also here, but it is singular that neither here nor at Amiens 
did wo once hear a Sedge Warbler, though we were so constantly 
prowling about places in which we might have expected it to 
abound ; nor did we, as we had hoped, come across the Aquatic 
Warbler (Acrocep/ialus aquatints). In Reeds by the side of a 
picturesque Mere, Macpherson found a nest with one egg which 
puzzled us for a long time, as we did not see the bird ; it belonged, 
however, almost beyond doubt, to a Reed Warbler, but the egg 
was of that type which approaches nearly to that of the Marsh 
Warbler. In colouring it was very like the single egg of the 
Aquatic Warbler which is exhibited at South Kensington, but 
was somewhat larger and rounder. 
We spent the afternoon of a most beautiful and refreshing day 
in a long ramble to the chalk hills towards the sea, then down 
through wooded slopes to the valley again, and home across the 
swampy and reedy flats. As we mounted the hills, we, for the 
first time, heard some of the familiar birds we had left behind 
in England, e.tj., Chiffchaff, Willow Wren, and Cuckoo. On the 
cultivated heights were Skylarks, but no Crested Lark. Here the 
unmistakable Meadow Hunting ( Embleriza ria), a bird I know 
well in Switzerland, showed himself to me for a moment, and the 
rarity of this species in the north of France made the moment 
a very interesting one. We were not much more than sixty miles 
from the, English coast, and it would seem not impossible that the 
Meadow Hunting, like other continental members of the group, 
may make its appearance some day on the south coast of our 
island. On the way home I found Ray’s Wagtail, for the first 
time since our arrival in France ; but these birds are not in their 
usual numbers this year even in England. Of the Rlue-headed 
species (.1/. flam), I saw a single specimen next morning at 
Roulogne. Around Abbeville we also found Winchats, Stonechats, 
Whitethroats, and the Common Redstart, but were surprised to 
see no Black Redstarts during the three days of our stay. 
