56 
British Birds. 
The Dartford Warbler. 
vinous chestnut, with 
the abdomen white. It 
is an inhabitant of 
heath-land, nesting in 
the furze districts of the 
South of England, ex- 
tending, so it is said, 
into the Midlands. Its 
Continental home is 
confined to Western 
Europe, viz., France, 
Spain, and Italy, nest- 
ing on the mountains 
in South-western 
Europe, and descending 
to the low country in winter. 
The note of the Dartford Warbler resembles the syllables pit-it-chou, and the 
French name for the species is Pitchou. Like other Warblers, it has a harsh scolding 
note when disturbed or when its nest is approached. 
In the districts which it frequents it is always very 
shy and skulking in its habits, but the male is some- 
times to be seen on the top of a furze-bush for a 
second or two, whence it takes its flight to another, 
only pausing occasionally to utter a little song from 
the top of the bush. The nest is rather neatly 
constructed and deep, made of fine grass-stems, 
with a little moss and wool, and scantily lined with 
horsehair. The eggs are from four to five in number. 
They are greenish-white, with numerous spots of 
greenish-brown and grey sprinkled all over the 
p cr pr 
The Rufous Warbler ( Aedon galactodes). 
This Mediterranean species is found in Spain and 
North Africa, and has occurred three times in 
England, once near Brighton, and twice in 
Devonshire. It is uniform cinnamon-rufous 
in colour above; the outer tail-feathers broadly 
tipped with white, and before this white tip is 
a broad band of black. There is a distinct 
eyebrow of a creamy-buff colour, and a faint 
moustache of dusky brown. The under surface 
The Great Reed-Warbler ( p . 63) 
The Rufous Warbler. 
