224 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
its sides. The material consists of coarse grass, with finer grass 
and roots, and always neatly lined with horsehair. Spiders’ 
webs, the flowers of the cotton-grass, and occasionally feathers, 
are also used in the construction of the nest. 
Eggs. — From four to five. Like the eggs of the Sedge- 
Warbler, next described. Mr. Seebohm says that there is no 
character by which they can be distinguished from the eggs of 
the latter bird, excepting that perhaps they are a trifle smaller, 
and not so yellow in tint. Axis, o'6i-o"j inch; diam., o - 5~ 
0-52. 
THE SEDGE-WARBLER. ACROCEPHALUS PHRAGMITIS. 
( Plate XXI. Fig. t.) 
Sylvia phragmitis , Bechst. Orn. Taschenb., p. 186 (1802). 
Calamoherpe phragmitis, Macg., Br. B., ii., p. 390 (1839). 
Acrocephalus schcenobanus (L.), Newt. ed. Yarr., i., p. 376 
(1873) \ Dresser, B. Eur., ii., p. 597, pi. 90, fig. 2 (1876). 
Acrocephalus phragmitis , Seeb., Cat. B. Brit. Mus., v., p. 91 
(1881); id. Hist. Br. B., p. 332 (1883); B. O. U. List 
Br. B., p. 20 (1883); Lilford, Col. Fig. Br. B., pt. 2 
(1886); Saunders, Man., p. 77 (1889). 
Adult Male. — General colour above russet-brown, with dusky 
brown centres to the feathers, the crown like the back, but the 
rump and upper tail coverts more distinctly tawny and nearly 
uniform ; lesser wing-coverts like the back, the median and 
greater series, as well as the innermost secondaries blackish, 
edged externally with tawny-buff ; primary-coverts brown, 
blackish at the ends, forming an indistinct alar speculum ; 
quills and tail-feathers dark brown, with tawny edgings, the 
latter with faint margins to the tips of the feathers, more dis- 
tinctly seen underneath ; a very well marked eyebrow extend- 
ing from the lores to above the ear-coverts, and accompanied 
by a less defined black band along the side of the crown ; 
lores dusky; ear coverts dull tawny-buff; throat and centre of 
breast and abdomen white ; fore-neck, chest, and sides of body 
tawny-buff, deepening in colour on the flanks and under tail- 
coverts ; axillaries like the breast ; under wing-coverts white, 
with a slight tinge of tawny-buff ; quills dusky below, whitish 
along the edge of the inner web ; bill dark brown above, with 
