similai’ propensities ; bnt let us not deny their right to a little fruit after the great good they have effected 
hy ridding us of myriads of caterpillars and destructive insects. 
It has been frequently remarked that the power of song is denied to birds of fine plumage, and that the 
plainer the dress the finer the notes. To a certain extent this is a truism ; for where can there he a greater 
deficiency of brilliancy than in the plumage of the Nightingale, or a bird that is more simply attired than 
the Garden-Warbler ? yet how highly has the quality of their songs been extolled, and how much has been 
written respecting them ! No description, however, can do them justice : they must, in my opinion, be 
heard, to be appreciated. 
Yarrell says that a good judge of the comparative value of the songs of our birds has described the 
Garden-Warbler’s as a stream of considerable modulation ; and adds, the song is wild, rapid, and irregular 
in time and tone, but its rich depth is wonderful for so small a throat. Bechstein calls its voice flute-like. 
S^veet says, “ Its arrival is soon known by its very loud and long song, which generally begins very low, but 
rises by degrees, and is continued nearly all through the day, and the greater part of the time it stays with 
ns. In confinement it will sing nearly all through the year, if it be treated well.” “ Some of the notes,” 
says Macgillivray, “are sweetly and softly drawn, others quick, lively, loud, and piercing, reaching the ear 
with a pleasing harmony. It frequently sings after sunset.” 
“ In a wild state,” says Sweet, “ it is generally found in gardens and plantations, where it feeds chiefly on 
fruits, and will not refuse some kinds of insects ; it is very fond of the larva or caterpillar that is often 
found in abundance on cabbage-plants, the produce of Papilio brassicce ; and I know of no other bird that will 
feed on it. Soon after its arrival here, the strawberries are ripe, and it is not long before it finds them out ; 
the cherries it will begin to attack before they are quite ripe, and I know not any kind of fruit or berry, which 
is wholesome, that it will refuse ; it generally tastes the plums, pears, and early apples before it leaves us, 
and in confinement feeds freely on elder-, privet-, and ivy-berries ; it is also partial to barberries and a soft 
apple or pear.” 
The structure of the nest, and the number and colour of the eggs, are often so similar to those of tbe 
Blackcap that the greatest care and attention is requisite to determine to which species a nest and set of 
eggs belong. A nest in the late Mr. Heysham’s collection, which was probably taken near Carlisle, and 
one observed by myself at Formosa in Berkshire, were precisely alike, and were composed externally of the 
tender stalks of annuals, a little moss, and spiders’ webs, lined with fine roots and horsehair. The eo-o-s 
which are four or five in number, are of a stone-colour, blotcbed with sepia and purplish-grey. 
The sexes are so very similar, both in size and colouring, that dissection must be resorted to to distin- 
guish them with certainty. The young at first resemble their parents, but have the u])per surface of a 
richer brown tint, and the under surface yellower. 
The Plate represents the Garden- Warbler of the natural size, on the Traveller’s Joy {Clematis Vitalbd). 
