(Vol. viii., p. 593.)
Ere venturing an opinion as to the exact size of the above, as compared
with the Golden-crested Wren, I should much like to ascertain where I am
likely to meet with a faithful specimen of the latter? The Myrtle Bee is
about half the size of the common Wren, certainly not larger: and I always
took it for granted, the bird derived its name from its diminutiveness and
the cover it frequented. I cannot say the bird was generally known in the
neighbourhood, having only met with it when in company with sportsmen, in a
description of country little frequented by others. I originally obtained
the name when a boy from a deceased parent whom I accompanied out shooting;
and for a succession of years the bird was familiar to me, in fact, to all
sportsmen of that period who shot over the immediate locality; we all knew
it, although its name was seldom mentioned. In fact, it never induced a
thought beyond--"Confound the bees, how they bother the dogs"--or some such
expression. I am unacquainted with the Dartford Warbler (_Sylvia
provincialis_, Gmel.); but the description as quoted by Mr. Salmon from
Yarrell's _Hist. of British Birds_, 1839, vol. i. p. 311. et seq., differs
from the Myrtle Bee. The Warbler is said to haunt and build among furze on
commons, and flies with jerks; whereas I never met with the Myrtle Bee
among furze, neither does it fly with jerks: on the contrary, its short
flight is rapid, steady, and direct. The description of the Warbler appears
to agree with a small bird well known here as the Furze Chat, but which is
out of all proportion as compared with the Myrtle Bee.
As regards the Query touching the possibility of my memory being
treacherous respecting the colour of the bird, after a lapse of twenty-five
years, more faith will be placed therein on my stating that I am an old
fly-fisher, making my own flies: and that no strange bird ever came to hand
without undergoing a searching scrutiny as to colour and texture of the
feathers, with the view of converting it to fishing purposes. No such use
could be made of the Bee. In a former Number I described the tongue of the
Myrtle Bee as round, sharp, and pointed at the end, appearing capable of
penetration. I beg to say that I was solely indebted to accident in being
able to do so, viz. the tongue protruded beyond the point of the bill,
owing to the pressure it received in my dog's mouth; the dog having brought
it out enveloped in dead grass, from the foot of the myrtle bush.