a new Englifh Bird* 13 
Its food is infeeds, at lead: in part, for I obferved it catching 
files. It hops continually from fpray to fpray, or from one 
reed to another, putting itfelf into a Hooping podure before it 
moves. 1 heard it make no other than a fugle note, not un- 
like the found of the word peep , uttered in a low plaintive 
tone ; but this might probably be only a note of didrefs, and 
it may have, perhaps, more pleafing and melodious ones at 
other times, with which I am unacquainted. 
The ned of this bird is a mod curious dru&ure, unlike that 
of any other I am acquainted with, enough to point out the 
difference of the fpecies, if every other character was wanting. 
It may not be amifs here to obferye, that there is fuch a 
man! fed diverfity in the materials, locality, and formation of 
neds, and fuch variety of colours in the eggs of many birds 
(in other refpedts hard to be didinguiflied), that it is pity this 
part of Ornithology has not been more attended to. I am well 
convinced, that as many fpecies of infers , nearly allied to each 
other in colours and fliape, and reputed to be only varieties, are 
frequently, from a due attention to their larva (which are often 
extremely different), difcovered to be fpecies totally diflindl ; fo,, 
amongd birds of fimilar genus and feather, their true differences 
may be often found by carefully obferving their neds and eggs, 
when other characters are fo minute, in the birds themfelves, 
as to be didinguiflied with difficulty. By experience I have 
found this to be remarkably verified in fome of the Lark kind. 
But to return to the ned I was going to defcribe. It is com- 
pofed externally of dry dalks of grafs, lined, for the mod 
part, with the flowery tufts of the common reed, or Aranda 
vallatoria, but fometimes with fmall dead grades, and a. few 
black horfe-haits to cover them. This ned is ufually found 
fufpended 
