76 
which is visible in the illustration. The Sedge-Warbler is a vociferous 
songster, more voluble than melodious, though its song heard by 
some river-bank as the shades of evening are falling is m harmony 
with the hour, and not without a certain beauty, and it is in the 
gloaming that this bird loves to sing. One of its peculiarities in this 
respect is, that it may be encouraged in its song by a stone thrown 
into the bush where it is perched. In feeding, this bird is very 
largely insectivorous, and even one pair must during the rearing of 
their young, destroy a vast number of these tiny winged tormentors, 
of whose power to cause annoyance most anglers must have rueful 
memories. The nest of the Sedge-Warbler is placed in a thick bush 
or clump of herbage near the water, and its eggs, five or six in num- 
ber, are of a brownish-cream colour, invariably marked at the larger 
end by tiny and hair-like lines of black. 
Woodcock — The Woodcock belongs to the family of wading 
birds. Some woodcocks are resident with us and breed, but larger 
numbers visit these isles as winter migrants, arriving in autumn and 
departing again in spring. Most of these birds would appear to 
reach our shores from Norway and such higher latitudes, from 
whence no doubt they are driven by the inclemency of the approach- 
ing winter to our less inhospitable shores, where their food-supply is 
more easily procurable. In general colour the Woodcock is of a 
rich chestnut-brown, spotted and streaked with black. The bill is 
long in proportion to the size of the bird, and is used for probing the 
mud in which it seeks its food. The eye is large and dark, and is 
situated high and far back in the head, imparting a somewhat 
peculiar look to the bird. This species is much valued by the 
sportsman and “gourmand.’’ The Woodcock feeds mostly at night, 
when it resorts to lake and riverside ; during the day it lies up under 
cover, and is at that time, like other night wanderers, disinclined to 
move, and may be somewhat easily approached. It is not common 
as a nesting species, but still there are few counties throughout the 
British Isles where nests have not been found. The eggs, four in 
number, laid in a slight depression on the ground, are creamy-stone 
in ground-colour, blotched and flecked with grey and brown. 
Willow-Wren — The Willow-Wren or Willow-Warbler is one of 
the most common of our summer migrants, though owing to its small 
size, and protective colouring, it is not easily seen, and is there- 
fore not so well known as many others, such as the swallow. But 
there can be hardly a square mile of open country, save perhaps the 
higher and bare moorland, that has not resident upon it for the 
summer months, at least one pair of these useful, tiny and delicate 
songsters One of nature’s w onders is the instinct which brings this 
tiny feathered mite only five inches long, from the continent of Af ica 
over land and ocean to visit our isles to rear its young. The 
Willow-Warbler is a very beautiful little bird, but a .sharp eye 
is needed to catch sight of its greenish plumage, with the tiny 
yellow streak above the eye, either as it pours out Its 
melodious song from its leafy haunts, or restles.sly from branch to 
branch pursues the insects on which it feeds. The nest, which is of 
a domed shape, is pl.aced upon the ground, carefully concealed in ^ 
grass, ferns or herbage of some kind, and contains si,” "" ■ ' ' 
white eggs speckled with lightish-brown. 
2 y ,y75 
LIDRARY 
