removed from human habitation, and it is not unusual to find the nest,
containing five or six pale-blue eggs, upon a peach or plum-tree against
a wall; upon a cross-beam of a summer-house; or in a hole of a wall or
tree, as opportunity may serve. The eggs are very similar to those of
the Hedge Sparrow, but are invariably smaller and paler. It picks up
most of its food, such as small beetles, spiders, and worms, on the
ground; and its actions when thus engaged remind one more of the Robin
than of the Wheatear, as Macgillivray thought. At other times it will
sit upon an exposed branch, and dart forth into the air, like a
Flycatcher, to secure a passing insect. Its song, though sprightly, is
weak and seldom prolonged. It is generally poured forth from some bough
or other “coign of vantage,” but is occasionally uttered as the bird
hovers on the wing, or flies from spray to spray.
Although a very shy bird, the Redstart occasionally takes up its
quarters close to the house, and when once it has selected a site for
its nest and hatched its young, it manifests such attachment for them as
to allow a very near approach, and will even permit a visitor to stroke
it as it sits upon the nest.
The beauty of its plumage, its sprightly and at times incessant song,
and the good which it effects in ridding plants and fruit-trees of the
green _aphis_, commend it to the notice and protection of all owners of
gardens.
The Common Redstart has scarcely quitted our shores in autumn before its
congener, the Black Redstart (_Ruticilla tithys_), arrives to pass the
winter here, and occasionally even to linger on until the more familiar
species returns again with the spring. But since it is properly regarded
as a winter visitant to this country, any lengthened description of the
species, and of its haunts and habits, would be out of place here. I
shall therefore merely observe that it may be distinguished from the
Common Redstart by the sooty-black colour of the breast and belly, which
parts in the other are orange-brown, and that it generally arrives about
the first week in November, and remains until the end of March or
beginning of April.
The origin of the specific name “_tithys_” seems to be somewhat
doubtful, although several ornithologists have attempted an explanation.
Hemprich and Ehrenberg (“Symbolæ Physicæ,” fol. bb), and Von Heuglin
(“Orn. Nord-Ost Afrika’s,” i. p. 334) have referred it to τίτης,
_ultor_, with which, however, in the opinion of Professor Newton (“Ann.
Mag. Nat. History,” Ser. 4, x. p. 227), it can have nothing to do.
Professor Newton himself, in the magazine just quoted, and in a footnote
to his edition of Yarrell’s “History of British Birds,” i. p. 333,
writes: “_Sylvia tithys_ (by mistake) Scopoli, Annus I.
Historico-naturalis, p. 157 (1769). This naturalist admittedly took his
specific name from Linnæus, who spelt the word ‘_titys_’ as did Gesner;
but the best classical authorities, Stephanus, Porson, and Passow,
consider ‘_titis_’ to be right. This originally meant a small chirping
bird, and is possibly cognate with the first syllable of our _tit_mouse
and _tit_lark.” After the opinion expressed by such authorities, it may
appear somewhat presumptuous on my part to offer a suggestion; but there
is yet another explanation, which has apparently been overlooked. Might
not the word “_tithys_” (more correctly “_tithus_”) be derived from the
Greek adjective τιθός, θή, θόν, which has the same signification as
τιθασός, that is, ‘reared up in the house, domesticated.’ Compare the
domestic hens of Dioscorides, τιθαὶ ὄρνιθες. The term “domesticated”
would be well applied to the Black Redstart, which is a very familiar
bird, frequently perching on house-tops and garden walls, and building
in holes and crannies in the neighbourhood of man’s dwelling.
[Illustration: SEDGE WARBLER]
THE SEDGE WARBLER.
(_Salicaria phragmitis._)
Leaving the woods, gardens, and plantations, and proceeding to the river
side, we meet with a very different class of birds—the river warblers.
This is a very numerous family, and were we about to treat of all the
known species, it might be advisable for simplicity’s sake to group them
into sub-families. As we are confining our attention, however, for the
present, to those species only which have been met with in the British
Islands, it will be less confusing if we dispense with this subdivision,
and notice them under the same generic name—_Salicaria_. The various
members of this genus may be distinguished by their short wings, rounded
tails, tarsus longer than the middle toe, large feet, long and curved
claws, and large hind toe with strong curved claw. They differ, too,
from other warblers in their habit of singing at night. There are eight
species which have all more or less a claim to be included in the
British list, although three only can be regarded as regular summer
migrants. These three are the Sedge Warbler (_S. phragmitis_), the Reed
Warbler (_S. strepera_), and the Grasshopper Warbler (_S. locustella_).
The others are Savi’s Warbler (_S. luscinoides_), the Aquatic Warbler
(_S. aquatica_), the Marsh Warbler (_S. palustris_), the Great Reed
Warbler (_S. arundinacea_), and the Rufous Warbler (_S. galactoides_).
The Sedge Warbler and the Reed Warbler generally arrive much about the
same time in April, but, from some unexplained cause, the latter is much
more restricted in its distribution than the former. The Sedge Warbler
is found throughout the British Islands, but the Reed Warbler is almost
unknown in Ireland, and its nest has only once been met with in
Scotland.[21] As a rule, it is seldom, if ever, to be seen further north
than Yorkshire and Lancashire, and does not breed either in Devon or
Cornwall. It may thus be said to be almost confined to the eastern,
midland, and south-eastern counties of England. Beyond the British
Islands, too, it is less erratic in its movements than its congeners.
The Sedge Warbler visits Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia, and is found
throughout Europe in summer, and in North Africa and Asia Minor in
winter. The late Mr. Andersson sent specimens even from Damaraland, S.W.
Africa. The Reed Warbler does not migrate as far north as this; but Mr.
Gurney has received a specimen from Natal; and if we may rely on the
identification of specimens obtained by Mr. Hodgson, it ranges as far
eastward as Nepal.
I have sometimes heard persons express their inability to distinguish
these two species apart; but there ought to be no difficulty in the
matter. The Sedge Warbler has a variegated back, with a conspicuous
light streak over the eye; the Reed Warbler has a uniform pale-brown
back, and the superciliary streak very faint. The actions of the two
birds are not unlike, but their nesting habits are very different. _S.
phragmitis_ builds on the ground or very near it, making a nest of moss
and grass, lined with horsehair, and laying five or six eggs of a
yellowish-brown colour, with a few scattered spots or lines of a darker
colour at the larger end. _S. strepera_ suspends its nest between reed
stems or twigs, round which a great portion of the nest is woven, and
the entire structure is much larger, deeper, and more cup-shaped. The
materials are long grasses, flowering reed-heads, and wool, the lining
being composed of fine grass and hair. The eggs, five or six in number,
are greenish-white speckled with ash-green and pale-brown. The habit
which the Reed Warbler has of occasionally nesting at a distance from
water is now probably well known to ornithologists. It was noticed by
Mr. R. Mitford in the “Zoologist” for 1864 (p. 9109), and subsequently
by the writer, in “The Birds of Middlesex,” 1866 (p. 47), and by the
author of “The Birds of Berks and Bucks,” 1868 (p. 81). Mr. B. Hamilton
Booth, of Malton, Yorkshire, communicated the fact of his having
discovered a nest of the Reed Warbler in a yew tree, built so as to
include three or four twigs as if they were reeds, and placed at a
height of at least twelve or fourteen feet from the ground. He accounted
for the nest being built at such a height, and in a tree, on the
supposition that the first nest had been destroyed by the rats which
infest the place, and the birds had taken a precaution for future
safety.
[Illustration: GRASSHOPPER WARBLER]
THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER.
(_Salicaria locustella._)
The third species of this genus which is a regular summer migrant to
this country is the Grasshopper Warbler, so called from its peculiar
sibilant note. In its general appearance it is most like the Sedge
Warbler, but is larger in every way, and has the upper part of the
plumage more variegated, no superciliary streak, and the throat minutely
spotted. This last feature, however, is peculiar to the male. In habits,
haunts, and in the character of its nest and eggs, the Grasshopper
Warbler differs entirely from the two species above mentioned. It
delights in a dense undergrowth or thick hedge-bottom, where it creeps
about more like a mouse than a bird, and is extremely difficult to catch
sight of, pausing at intervals to seize an insect or to give forth its
remarkable note. Its well-made and compact nest, so different from the
slovenly structure of the Sedge Warbler, is placed upon the ground, and
carefully concealed. The eggs, five or six in number, are amongst the
most beautiful of small birds’ eggs. When blown they are white, minutely
freckled over with brownish-red; but before the yolk has been expelled
they are suffused with a delicate rosy tint, which afterwards
unfortunately disappears. The Grasshopper Warbler is a regular summer
visitant to Ireland, and is also found in the south of Scotland. Its
retiring habits probably cause it to be overlooked, and were it not for
its loud note it would doubtless often escape notice altogether. It does
not appear to be anywhere a numerous species, and its geographical
distribution has not been yet clearly defined. It is observed in
Southern Europe at the periods of migration, and we may therefore
presume that it accompanies its congeners and other small summer
migrants to North Africa, Asia Minor, and Palestine.
SAVI’S WARBLER.
(_Salicaria luscinoides._)
Before the fens were drained, it is said that the rarer species, Savi’s
Warbler, was not uncommon in the eastern counties of England. The
fen-men used to distinguish it from the Grasshopper Warbler by its note,
calling the commoner species “the reeler,” the other “the night reeler,”
from the resemblance of its note to the whirr of the reel used by the
wool-spinners. In Norfolk, according to Mr. Stevenson, it appears to
have been known to the marsh-men as “the red craking reed-wren.” The
fens of Baitsbight, Burwell, and Whittlesea were formerly noted
localities for this species, then regarded as a regular summer migrant;
but extensive drainage and increased cultivation of waste land has
apparently destroyed the only breeding haunt which had any attraction
for it, and it can now be only considered a rare summer visitant. I have
once, and only once, seen this species alive in England. This was in a
large reed-bed close to the river, near Iken, in Suffolk, in the month
of September, 1874. The bird first attracted my attention by the very
rufous colour of the dorsal plumage, and as I succeeded in obtaining a
near view of it, I feel confident that I was not mistaken in the
species. The nest and eggs of this bird are reported to have been taken
in Norfolk, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Essex, Kent, and once in
Devonshire.[22] In general appearance at a distance it is not unlike the
Reed Warbler, but on closer inspection will be found to have the upper
portions of the plumage and the tail more rufous, like the Nightingale;
hence the term _luscinoides_ which has been applied to it. The English
name is borrowed from its discoverer, Signor Savi, who found it in
Tuscany, and published an account of it in the “Nuovo Giornale di
Litteratura,” 1824, and in his “Ornithologia Toscana,” vol. i. p. 270.
The eggs are something like those of the Grasshopper Warbler, but larger
and darker; the nest is very different, being composed entirely of
sedge, so closely woven and interlaced as to remind one of the
mat-baskets which are used by fishmongers. Of the geographical
distribution of this bird we have yet a good deal to learn. It does not
appear to range very far northwards, but is observed annually in summer
in Southern Europe, passing by way of Sicily and the Maltese Islands to
Egypt. Mr. Salvin found it abundant in the Marsh of Zana, and Mr.
Tyrwhitt Drake met with it in Tangier and Eastern Morocco.
THE AQUATIC WARBLER.
(_Salicaria aquatica._)
On three occasions only has the Aquatic Warbler been recognised in
England. One taken at Hove, near Brighton, in October, 1853, is in the
collection of Mr. Borrer;[23] a second, in my possession, was killed
near Loughborough, in the summer of 1864;[24] and a third, believed to
have been obtained near Dover, is in the Dover Museum.[25] This bird
resembles the Sedge Warbler in size and general appearance, but, in
addition to the light stripe over each eye, it differs in having a light
stripe down the centre of the forehead; this, being very distinct,
furnishes a good means of identifying it readily. The species has been
figured by Dr. Bree in his “Birds of Europe,” to which work the reader
may be referred for further information and a more detailed description.
I may supplement his remarks, however, by saying that Lord Lilford found
it common in Corfu in May, and at Nice in August and September;[26] and
that Mr. T. Drake met with it in March in Tangier and Eastern
Morocco.[27] Now that its occasional presence in this country has been
detected, ornithologists should look out for it between April and
September, and scrutinize every Sedge-bird they see, on the chance of
meeting with the rarer species.
THE MARSH WARBLER.
(_Salicaria palustris._)
In appearance this bird resembles the common Reed Warbler, just as the
Aquatic Warbler resembles the Sedge-bird. It is one of the plain-backed
species, and similarity in appearance as well as in habits causes it
doubtless to be overlooked or mistaken for the commoner bird.
From its general resemblance to the Reed Warbler, _Salicaria
strepera_[28] (Vieillot), it has no doubt been overlooked; but when its
distinguishing characters have been duly noted it will in all
probability be found to be a regular summer migrant to this country. Dr.
Bree, when treating of this species in his “Birds of Europe,” says (vol.
ii. p. 74): “I think it very probable that this bird is an inhabitant of
Great Britain, though hitherto confounded with the Reed Warbler. I think
I have myself taken the nest; and Mr. Sweet’s bird, mentioned by Mr.
Yarrell, was probably this species.”
In the “Zoologist” for 1861, p. 7755, the occurrence of the Marsh
Warbler in Great Britain was recorded by Mr. Saville, who procured a
single specimen, subsequently identified by Mr. Gould, and saw others in
Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire. He says: “My attention was first attracted
to this species some time since, during a visit to our fens, by the
marked difference in the song of a bird somewhat similar in appearance
to the true _S. arundinacea_ (i. e., _strepera_); it was louder,
clearer, and sweeter-toned than that of the last-named. Its mode of
flight, too, was more undulated and quicker. It was more shy and timid,
continually retreating to the thickest covert. Never, so far as my
experience goes, does it emit notes similar to the syllables
‘chee-chee-chee’ so common to _S. arundinacea_.”
Another specimen of this bird was obtained in Cambridgeshire by the late
James Hamilton, jun., of Minard, during the summer of 1864, and was
exhibited at a meeting of the Natural History Society of Glasgow in
February, 1865, as recorded by Mr. E. R. Alston in the “Zoologist,”
1866, p. 496.
In the same year, Mr. Robert Mitford gave an account (“Zoologist,” 1864,
p. 9109) of a Reed Warbler which he found nesting in lilac trees in his
garden at Hampstead, and which at the time was thought to differ
specifically from _S. strepera_, and possibly to be _S. palustris_. In
the summer of 1863 Mr. Mitford had found four pairs of this bird
breeding in gardens under similar circumstances, and in July, 1865, he
shot two of the same birds, both males, and found, as he says, “two
nests similar in structure, and similarly situated to those of the
previous year in my garden, from both of which the young had evidently
flown only a few days previously. The birds were not in good order, but
just beginning their moult. I so arranged the matter that at the time I
shot these birds I received from Romney Marsh fresh-killed specimens of
the true Reed Warbler, shot in the reeds of the fen ditches; and in
comparing the two birds in the flesh together, I have little hesitation
in saying that the inland warbler is not our Reed Warbler. I will not
enter into the chief points of difference at present, as I hope next May
to get a specimen or two in finer plumage.” (“Zoologist,” 1865, p.
9847.)
Mr. Mitford I believe has not altered the opinion which he originally
expressed; but, from a careful examination of the birds shot by him, I
am inclined to regard them all as _S. strepera_. This peculiarity in the
Reed Warbler of nesting at a distance from water has since been noticed
by naturalists in other parts of the country. In 1866 I referred to a
confirmation of the fact as communicated by a friend at Ealing,[29] and
Mr. A. C. Kennedy, in his “Birds of Berks and Bucks” (p. 81), has
alluded to the same habit from his own observation near Windsor. In all
probability the birds seen by Lord Clermont in lilac bushes at
Twickenham[30] were also Reed Warblers.
Mr. Frederick Bond some time since called my attention to the occurrence
of the rarer _S. palustris_ in Norfolk, and kindly lent me a series of
skins of both species procured in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Sussex.
Of these, two specimens of _S. palustris_ were killed at Whittlesford,
Cambridgeshire, many years ago, under the impression that they were _S.
strepera_; and three others near Norwich in June, 1869, under the like
misapprehension. They do not differ in any way from skins of _palustris_
from France and Germany, with which I have compared them.
The characters by which this species may be distinguished from _S.
strepera_ may be briefly stated as follows:—
Although the colour of the upper portion of the plumage in both is a
uniform olive-brown, _S. palustris_ is yellower. It is a somewhat longer
bird, with a shorter and broader bill; a buffy-white line, extending
from the base of the bill over the eye, is clearly defined. In
_strepera_ this line is so faint as to be scarcely discernible. Mr.
Yarrell, indeed, considered it to be absent in _strepera_; but, from
this circumstance, and from the fact of his describing the legs of this
species as pale-brown, it may be inferred that he had before him, and
figured, a young bird.
The first primary in the wing of both is very short, quite rudimentary,
in fact; while the third in each is the longest in the wing. In
_palustris_ the second primary is equal to the fourth; while in
_strepera_ the second is equal to the fifth. It is doubtful whether this
can be invariably relied upon, for the length of feathers, even in the
same species, will sometimes vary considerably, through age, moult, or
accident.
The readiest means of distinguishing the two birds at a glance will be
by the colour of the legs and toes. In living or freshly-killed
specimens it will be observed that the tarsi and feet of _strepera_ are
of a slaty-brown colour, while in _palustris_ the same parts are
flesh-colour. In dried skins, the former turns to hair-brown; the latter
to yellowish-brown. The tarsus of _palustris_, moreover, is rather
longer and stouter than that of its congener. From this it appears that
Mr. Gould in his “Birds of Great Britain” has figured _palustris_ for
_strepera_.
Dr. Bree, in his “Birds of Europe,” has unfortunately figured
_palustris_ with slate-coloured legs and feet, which quite alters its
appearance, although he has been careful in the text to describe the
colour correctly.
The tail in _palustris_ is less rounded than in _strepera_; the outer
tail-feather in the former being not so short as in the latter.
The measurements of the two species, taken from skins, are as follows:—
Length. Bill. Wing from Tarsus.
carpus.
_S. strepera_ 5·3 in. 0·5½ 2·7 0·8
_S. palustris_ 5·5 in. 0·5 2·5 0·9
The nests and eggs differ as much as do the birds themselves.
The nest of _palustris_ is much neater and more compact, and, as regards
depth, not more than half the size of that of _strepera_. The eggs of
both are subject to variation; but, as a rule, it may be said that in
those of _palustris_ the white ground colour has little if any of the
greenish or brownish tinge with which those of _strepera_ are invariably
suffused.
I have seen two nests in the collection of Mr. Bond, one containing
three, and the other two eggs, taken at Whittlesford, which I have no
doubt belonged to _palustris_.
In Badeker’s work on the eggs of European birds, it is stated that the
Marsh Warbler “builds in bushes, in meadows, and on the banks of
ditches, rivers, ponds, and lakes. The nest is made of dry grass and
straws, with panicles, and interwoven with strips of inner bark and
horsehair outside. The rim is only very slightly drawn in. It has a
loose substructure, and is by this and its half globular form, suspended
on dry ground between the branches of the bushes or nettles, easily
distinguished from the strongly formed nest of _S. strepera_, which is
moreover built over water.[31] It lays five or six eggs the beginning of
June, which have a bluish-white ground, with pale-violet and clear brown
spots in the texture of the shell, and delicate dark brown spots on the
surface, mingled with which are a number of black dots. The ground
colour also in many fresh eggs is green, but clear, and very different
from the muddy tint of the egg of the Reed Warbler. The female sits
daily for some hours; but the male takes his turn. Incubation lasts
thirteen days.”
It would be extremely satisfactory to establish the fact of the regular
migration to this country in spring of the Marsh Warbler; and it is to
be hoped that ornithologists in all parts of the kingdom will not omit
to investigate the subject, and record their observations.
THE GREAT REED WARBLER.
(_Salicaria arundinacea._)
Not only has this fine species visited England on several occasions, but
in a few instances it has been found nesting here. It has, therefore, a
good claim to be introduced into the present sketch. Specimens of the
bird have been obtained, once in Northumberland, and three or four times
in Kent,[32] and the eggs have been taken in Hertfordshire and
Northamptonshire.[33] The reader has only to picture to himself a bird
like the Reed Wren, but twice its size, and he will have an idea of the
appearance of the Great Reed Warbler. Nor does the resemblance end here.
It makes a nest just like the Reed Wren, but much larger, and lays eggs
similarly coloured, but larger. It is a fine species, and its loud and
varied notes, when once heard, can never be forgotten. Those who have
had opportunities, such as I have enjoyed, on the opposite shores of
Holland, of listening to this bird will regret with me that its visits
to England are not more frequent. It is possible, as suggested by Mr.
Hancock in the earliest notice of its occurrence here,[34] that it may
be a regular summer visitant to our island; but its song is so loud and
so remarkable, that I cannot think it could escape the notice of any
naturalist. The species is tolerably well dispersed throughout Europe,
and according to Mr. Yarrell has been found as far eastward as Bengal,
Japan, and Borneo. The Eastern bird, however, would appear to be the
_Salicaria turdoides orientalis_ of the “Fauna Japonica,” and distinct
from the European species. See Captain Blakiston on the Ornithology of
Northern Japan, “Ibis,” 1862, p. 317; Mr. Swinhoe on Formosan
Ornithology, “Ibis,” 1863, p. 305; and the Rev. H. B. Tristram, “Ibis,”
1867, p. 78, on the Ornithology of Palestine, where both forms occur.
THE RUFOUS WARBLER.
(_Aedon galactodes._)