142 
REED WARBLER. 
with' a little wool, the sides of the nest, which 
frequently measures five inches in depth on the 
outside, three inches in breadth across the top, 
and very frequently three inches deep inside. 
The lining is formed of very fine grass and long 
hairs. The nest is made so deep, that the eggs 
do not roll out when the supporting reeds are 
moved by the wind.” * 
In England, it has not been observed northward 
of Stafford and Derbyshire, and it has not yet 
occurred in Scotland. In Ireland, a single 
instance is mentioned of its occurrence near Bel- 
fast. On the Continent it occurs moderately 
plentiful in suitable localities, but does not extend 
far to the north. Out of Europe we have no 
knowledge of its occurrence. 
In this species the bill is a little more dilated at 
the base than in the preceding or following. The 
space between the bill and the eyes pale yellowish 
white, running in an indistinct streak above each 
eye ; the whole of the upper plumage is oil green, 
tinged with brown, and of a yellower shade on 
the rump ; the edges of the feathers composing 
the wings are paler ; the under parts are yellow- 
ish white, of a deeper tint across the breast and 
flanks. The difference between the sexes is 
trifling. In this form, we see a uniform and un- 
broken colouring, which is possessed also by one 
or two species from southern Africa. In the more 
varied marking of the last and next species, we 
have an alliance with Swainson’s genus Hemip- 
terix, also South African. 
* Yarrell, British Birds, i. p. 271. 
