REED WARBLER. SL 
make their way about the stalks of the reeds with their 
parents. 
Male; weight, nearly three drachms; length, five inches 
and a half; bill, broad at the base, pale brown, the under 
mandible inclining to yellowish white, brown towards the 
end—an indistinct dusky streak runs from its base to the 
eye and behind it, and a pale yellowish brown streak over 
it; iris, pale orange brown; eyelids, pale yellowish white; 
there are two or three strong bristles on each side of the 
bill. Head, crown, neck on the back, and nape, uniform 
rather pale brown with a tinge of chesnut; chin and throat, 
white, of a silvery cast in old birds. Breast, pale greyish 
yellow, darkest on the sides; back, pale reddish brown. 
The wings extend to within an inch and a half of the end 
of the tail, the quills are nineteen In number, the first 
feather is about a quarter the length of the second, the 
- second and fourth nearly equal; primaries, secondaries, and 
and tertaries, dark dusky chesnut brown, bordered with olive 
brown. ‘Tail, rather long, and a good deal rounded at the 
end, the outside feather being a quarter of an inch shorter 
than the middle one; the two middle feathers are the longest, 
and a little pointed; it is dark dusky brown, bordered with 
olive brown; under tail coverts, pale buff. Legs and toes, 
pale greyish or yellowish brown, the claws a little darker, 
the hind one strong, long, and hooked; the soles yellowish. 
The female is scarcely distinguishable from the male, but 
is rather smaller. Length, about five inches. 
The young of the year are darker coloured than their parents, 
and more mottled. The white streak over the eye is very 
faint until after the moult. 
VOL. 1V. G 
