THE REED-WARBLERS. 
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Range outside the British Islands. — The northern limit of the 
range of the Reed-Warbler in Europe appears to be about 5b JN . 
lat , but the species extends into Southern Sweden ; else- 
where, below that line, it appears to breed regularly, and appar- 
ently winters in certain of the Mediterranean countries, and 
passes through Egypt and Nubia, but its winter quarters in Africa 
are not yet determined. From the southern part of the 
Baltic Provinces, according to Dr. Pleske, its breeding range 
extends across Russia to the government of Kief, and it 
probably nests in the Crimea, as it certainly does in 1 rans- 
ca-casia, the eastern districts of the Volga, and the Dial Moun- 
tains, the Transcaspian countiies to Turkestan, and the 
southern slopes of the Altai Mountains. Its eastern limit is 
Baluchistan, and we have seen specimens collected by Mr. 
Cumming at Fao, on the Persian Gulf. 
Habits —The Reed- Warbler is common enough in summer 
in the south of England, and is abundant in the Thames 
Valiev • but, from its retiring habits, it is not often seen. Its 
song is however, a constant feature in a walk by the river-side, 
and is heard not only from the dense reed-beds, but also 
from the willows and alder-trees, in both of which situations 
the nest is often built. In fact, we have more often found 
the nest of the Reed-Warbler in willows near Cookham than 
in reeds, and it is sometimes placed at a considerable height 
from the ground. In the south of England, however, in the 
reed-covered ditches which Mr. Seebohm so well describes as 
the haunt of the Reed-Warbler in his “History of British Birds, 
the nest is nearly always suspended, between the stems ot 
reeds, and so common is the bird in this locality that he 
found eleven nests in the course of a couple of hours. 
When the weather is hot and the nights calm, the Reed- 
Warbler, like the Nightingale, sings nearly through the night, 
and its song is always more frequently heard towards the 
twilight. It resembles that of the Sedge-Warbler, and is of 
the same chattering nature, but is not so loud or so harsh in 
quality. As a rule, the bird is an inveterate skulker, and 
seldom quits its retreat, unless driven from it by repeated 
efforts, and its presence is generally made known only by its 
song, or by the shaking of the reeds as it hops from one to 
