142 
SYLVIADiE. 
trunks of trees, and more seldom on higher and slender 
branches at a distance from the trunk ; also in gardens, 
in the tops of plum and other fruit trees, or in copses 
three to fifteen feet high, but not in thorns nor in dead 
hedges. The kindness of Mr. A. Newton has given me 
the pleasure of describing the beautiful nest of this 
bird from the original; as mentioned by others, it has 
much the appearance of a finch’s nest in the greater 
quantity of materials with which it is constructed; but 
these materials are chiefly the same as those used by 
the other warblers, and are so light that the nest before 
me, with its walls an inch thick, would travel post for 
a penny. It is composed chiefly of umbelliferous plants 
and fine dry grass, strongly bound together by a quan¬ 
tity of wool, mixed with fine shavings from the bark 
of the birch tree, and bits of moss; the inside is of 
the flowering tops of grasses without the seed, roots 
of the finest kind and a few hairs. Outwardly the 
nest has much the appearance of that of the chaffinch, 
studded over with bits of white bark instead of lichens. 
Mr. Rennie thus describes the nest found by him in 
Germany. “ The frame-work is rather thick, made of 
dry grass stems, sewing thread, fine wood shavings, birch 
bark and small pieces of linen rag. The inside is very 
neatly lined with roots, hair, a few feathers and small 
locks of wool. 
The eggs are four or five in number, and, though 
very different from our other warblers, have the same 
purple spots as those of the chiff chaff and similarly 
distributed. As far as I have seen them they appear 
to be very constant in their colour and marking. 
