aj)propriates some of the notes of the Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Marsh Warbler, Great Tit, Chimney 
Swallow, the call of the Red-backed Strike, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, and the ans^ry cry of the House Sparrow 
{grre-grre-re-re-re-re-re, uttered several times in succession in a sharp tone) ; sometimes it begins with these 
notes, at others it commences with those of the Reed Wren, which are followed by sounds resembling the 
words theren-ptlro, thhotia'-ptiri-ptiree-ptirea, very quickly repeated in diflferent tones. These songs are heard 
until the middle of July, after which they are exchanged for a monotonous cry somewhat like bre-bre or gre- 
gre~r e-re-re-re, which is an indication of anger in both sexes, and which, when the birds are excited, arc 
uttered in a quavering or grinding manner. 
“ Having paired, the two sexes select a place in which to perform the task of incubation, near which they 
will admit of no intruders. The nest, which is usually commenced about the 20th of May, is sometimes 
placed on an angle of the branches of a bush or tree ; at others, it is firmly fixed, with spiders’ webs and 
other filamentous materials, to a bifurcation of a branch or of several together. Outw'ardly it is composed 
of dried grasses and the stems of flexible plants interwoven with skill ; interiorly it is lined with fibrous 
plants and horsehair, or, in default of these, with the down of the willow, thistle, &c. This thick and deep 
cup-shaped nest is frequently found in orange- and rose-trees, among bean- and pea-sticks, in the lilac and 
cypress thickets, and sometimes on fruit-trees and apricot and vine rows. The female rears only one brood 
in each year: her eggs are four or five in number, of a fleshy hue, tinted with violet or reddish lilac, and 
marked with spots and lines of reddish black. The parents feed the young with smooth caterpillars, flies, and 
small worms ; and when they are able to leave the nest, both young and old fly over the larger hedges, willow- 
plots, orchards, and woods in search of the winged insects and caterpillars which there abound, and of 
which they are very fond. They also haunt the mulberry-trees, and feed on the fruit. Occasionally they 
descend to the ground for worms, larvae, and chrysalises ; but soon return to the trees, ascend from branch 
to branch, and search both sides of the leaves for flies and small Insects. These families continue together 
O 
until the time for their migration arrives, when several join company and depart together, in the beginning 
of September.” 
A nest received from Holland was deep and cup-shaped in form, and was externally constructed of dried 
moss, spiders’ webs, a few feathers, wool, and grass, all firmly matted together, and was solely lined with 
the dried stems of fine grasses. It contained five eggs, of an opaque whitish pink, somewhat sparingly 
sprinkled with well-defined spots of dark umber. 
The two sexes present little or no difference in their colouring, and the ornithologist must resort to 
dissection if he be desirous of ascertaining the sex of any specimen with certainty. 
The Plate represents the bird, rather smaller than life, on a branch of the Larch {Abies Lariv). 
