THE GREAT 
REED-WARBLER. 
(. Acrocephalus 
turdoides.) 
of an olive-brown or stone-grey tint, being entirely clouded with specks of these 
colours, which hide the greenish-white ground-colour of the egg; there is nearly 
always a blackish line near the larger end of the egg. 
The Sedge-Warbler has a powerful but not musical song, which is heard from the 
depths of its retreat in the rushes or bushes, especially in the evening, and a stone 
thrown into its sleeping haunts, even after darkness has set in, will cause it to babble. 
The large size of this species easily distinguishes it from 
all the other British species of river Warblers, as it is more 
than seven inches in length. The general colour of the 
plumage is brown, a little more rufescent on the lower back 
and rump ; the sides of the face are greyish and there is a 
distinct white eyebrow. The under surface is white, with a tinge of tawny-buff on 
the breast and sides of the body, and the under wing-coverts, auxiliaries, and lining of 
the quills are of a pronounced tawny-buff colour. Young birds and adults killed in 
autumn and winter are decidedly more buff below. To Great Britain the species is 
only a rare and occasional visitor, but throughout the greater part of Europe, 
excepting the north, the Great Reed- Warbler breeds plentifully in the marshes, as 
far east as Turkestan, and it winters in 
Africa, having been procured on the upper 
Congo and as far south as the Transvaal. 
The song is harsh but powerful, and like 
other species of the genus, the male bird 
often ascends to the top of a reed, singing 
lustily as it climbs up. The nest is a 
compactly made structure, suspended 
between reeds, and is a round and deep 
cup formed of dead reeds with a little moss 
or leaves of water-plants intermingled, and 
lined inside with grass-stems and the 
flowers of the reed. The eggs are from 
four to six in number, greenish-blue or 
greenish-white in colour, blotched 
and spotted with greenish or reddish- 
brown, generally collecting near the 
P O'er 
This Warbler, often 
called theReed- 1 Wren,’ 
is a sober coloured 
little brown bird, which 
visits the southern and 
central portions of England in summer, The Reed-Warbler. 
larger end of the 
THE 
REED-WARBLER. 
(. Acrocephalus 
strcperus.) 
