The PROVENCE FIRE-EYED WARBLER, called in England the DARTFORD WARBLER
(_Pyropthalma Provincialis_), a species nearly allied to the above, is
dark grey on the upper portion of its body, and deep red on the under
side, streaked upon the throat with white. The quills and tail-feathers
are brownish grey, the four exterior tail-feathers having white tips;
the eye is light brown, its lid bright red; the beak black, with the
exception of the base of the under mandible, which is of a reddish
hue, as is the foot. The length of this bird is from four inches and
three-quarters to five inches, and its breadth from six inches to six and
a quarter. The wing measures two inches, and the tail from two inches
and a quarter to two inches and a half. This beautiful active little
Warbler inhabits not only the most southern part of Europe, but is also
met with in Great Britain, Asia Minor, and North-western Africa. Hedges,
shrubs, and brushwood are its favourite haunts, and in them it is to
be seen hopping briskly about in search of insects, or perching at the
end of a branch while it carols forth its blithe song, accompanying the
notes by gesticulations with its tail, and a display of the feathers on
its throat. Should its quiet retreat be disturbed by an unusual sound,
the vigilant little minstrel is at once silent, and after a momentary
survey of surrounding objects from the end of a projecting bough,
promptly retires to seek safety amid the densest part of the foliage.
"The male," as Mudie informs us, "often hovers about the bushes, uttering
his chirping cry, which, being rather feeble and hurried, can scarcely be
termed a genuine warble. At these times, from the thickness of the head
and neck, the long tail, and the short and rounded wings, the bird has
some resemblance to a dragonfly. A spy-glass must be used when observing
him, for if one venture near he instantly drops into the bush, where it
is in vain to search for him; and the alarm-note he then utters is not
unlike the cry of some of the field-mice."
This bird was first seen in England by Pennant, who, having killed his
specimens in the neighbourhood of Dartford, gave it the name of the
Dartford Warbler. Since that time it has been found on furzy commons in
several of the southern counties, and been proved to build and reside
throughout the year in this country. Colonel Montague, who met with
this bird in Devonshire, gives the following account of his search
after its nest:--"Mr. Stackhouse, of Pendennis, assured me that his
brother had observed these birds for several years to inhabit furze
near Truro. This information redoubled, if possible, my ardour, and I
visited a large furze bush in my neighbourhood, where I had seen them
the previous autumn, and upon close search, on the 16th of July, three
old birds were observed, two of which had young, as evidenced by their
extreme clamour and by frequently appearing with food in their bills. On
the 17th my researches were renewed, and, after three hours' watching
the motions of another pair, I discovered the nest with three young;
it was placed among the dead branches of the thickest furze, about two
feet from the ground, slightly fastened between the main stems, not in
a fork. On the same day a pair were discovered carrying materials for
building, and, by concealing myself in the bushes, I soon discovered
the place of nidification, and, upon examination, I found the nest was
just begun. As early as the 19th the nest appeared to be finished; but
it possessed only one egg on the 21st, and on the 26th it contained
four, when the nest and eggs were secured. The nest is composed of dry
vegetable stalks, particularly goose grass, mixed with the tender dead
branches of furze, not sufficiently hard to become prickly. These are
put together in a very loose manner, and intermixed very sparingly
with wool. In one of these nests was a single Partridge's feather. The
lining is equally sparing, for it consists only of a few dry stalks of
some species of carex without a single leaf of the plant, and only two
or three of the panicles. This thin flimsy structure, which the eye
pervades in all parts, much resembles the nest of the Whitethroat. The
eggs are also somewhat similar to those of the Whitethroat, weighing only
twenty-two grains; like the eggs of that species, they possess a slight
tinge of green; they are fully speckled all over with olivaceous brown
and cinereous, on a greenish-white ground, the markings becoming more
dense and forming a zone at the larger end. The young were considered
no small treasure, and were taken as soon as the proper age arrived
for rearing them by hand, which is at the time the tips of the quills
and the greater coverts of the wings expose a portion of the fibrous
end. By experience grasshoppers (which at this season of the year are
to be procured in abundance) are found to be an excellent food for all
insectivorous birds; these, therefore, at first were their constant food,
and, after five or six days, a mixture of bread and milk, chopped boiled
meat, and a little finely powdered hemp and rape seed, made into a thick
paste, to wean them from insect food by degrees; this they became more
partial to than even grasshoppers, but they afterwards preferred bread
and milk, with pounded hemp seed only, to every other food, the smaller
house or window flies excepted. Before these birds left their nest I
put them into a pair of scales, and found that they weighed two drachms
and a quarter each. At this time they ate in one day one drachm and a
quarter each, so that in two days each consumed more than its own weight.
Such a repletion is almost incredible, and doubtless greatly beyond what
the parent birds could usually supply them with, which, by observation,
appeared to consist of variety, and, not unfrequently, small _Phælenæ_;
their growth, however, was in proportion to the large supply of food.
This interesting little family began to throw out some of their mature
feathers on each side of the breast about the middle of August, and the
sexes became apparent. At this time they had forsaken their grasshopper
food, feeding by choice on the soft victuals before mentioned. The
nestling attachment of these little birds was very conspicuous towards
the dusk of the evening; for a long time after they had forsaken the
nest they became restless, and apparently in search of a roosting-place,
flying about the cage for half an hour, or until it was too dark to
move with safety, when a singular soft note was uttered by one which
had chosen a convenient spot for the night, at which instant they all
assembled, repeating the same plaintive cry. In this interesting scene,
as warmth was the object of all, a considerable bustle ensued, in order
to obtain an inward berth, those on the outside alternately perching upon
the others, and forcing in between them; during this confusion, which
sometimes continued for a few minutes, the cuddling note was continually
emitted, and in an instant all was quiet. Nothing can exceed the activity
of these little creatures; they are in perpetual motion the whole day,
throwing themselves into various attitudes and gesticulations, erecting
the crest and tail at intervals, accompanied by a double or triple cry,
which seems to express the words 'Cha! cha! cha!' They frequently take
their food while suspended to the wires with their heads downwards, and
not unusually turn over backwards on the perch. The males, of which there
were three out of the four, began to sing with the appearance of their
first mature feathers, and continued in song all the month of October,
frequently with scarcely any intermission for several hours together; the
notes are entirely native, consisting of considerable variety, delivered
in a hurried manner, and in a much lower tone than I have heard the old
birds in their natural haunts. This song is different from anything of
the kind I ever heard, but in part resembles that of the Stone Chat. The
Dartford Warbler will sometimes suspend itself on wing over the furze,
singing the whole time, but is more frequently observed on the uppermost
spray in vocal strain for half an hour together."
The same habits were observed by "Rusticus," of Godalming, who, writing
in "Loudon's Magazine," says:--"Its habits are very like those of the
little Wren; and when the leaves are off the trees, and the chill winter
winds have driven the summer birds to the olive gardens of Spain, or
across the Straits, the Furze Wren, as it is there called, is in the
height of its enjoyment. I have seen them by dozens skipping about
the furze, lighting for a moment on the very point of the sprigs, and
instantly diving out of sight again, singing out their angry, impatient
ditty, for ever the same. They prefer those places where the furze is
very thick, high, and difficult to get in."
The period of incubation commences early in the spring, each brood (of
which there are always two, sometimes three, in the course of the season)
consisting of four or five eggs. When first fledged the nestlings are
unable to fly, and run over the ground exactly after the fashion of
young mice. Whilst the little family is in this helpless condition, the
parents are constantly in a state of great excitement and anxiety; their
cry of admonition or warning is then to be heard incessantly; even when
the young are sufficiently advanced to perch upon the branches, the same
cautious watchfulness against approaching danger is maintained, and we
have often amused ourselves by observing the precipitation with which
the whole group of little Blackheads disappear as the obedient nestlings
hurry to some safe shelter within the bush or tree, at the first signal
from their vigilant parents. Such of these birds as inhabit mountain
ranges do not migrate; in Spain they live at an altitude of 3,000 feet
above the sea, and even when the snow begins to fall they merely come
into the valleys below, and never wander to any great distance from their
native haunts.
* * * * *
The TREE WARBLERS (_Phylloscopi_) constitute a family whose members are
met with throughout the world. With the exception of one group, all are
small, slender, delicately-shaped birds, with comparatively long wings,
in which the third, fourth, and fifth quills usually exceed the rest in
length. The tail is of moderate size, either quite straight or slightly
incised at the extremity, and these tarsi are of medium height. The beak
is awl-shaped, slender, rather flat at its base, and in some instances
somewhat broader than it is high. The plumage is soft, and very uniform
in colour; it is usually of a pale green or brown on the back, and
yellowish on the under side. All the species with which we are acquainted
principally frequent the summits of trees, but come down occasionally to
seek their insect food upon the rushes, or in the fields of corn; they
seldom consume berries, unless compelled to do so by hunger. All are
active and restless, and display great agility, both among the branches
and when running over the surface of the ground; their powers of flight
are also good, their voice always agreeable, and their senses well and
sometimes highly developed. Such as inhabit Southern Europe, Asia, and
Africa do not migrate, whilst those in milder latitudes leave their
native lands late in the autumn, and return to them again in the early
spring. These latter species generally breed twice during the summer, and
lay from four to seven delicate white or pale rose-red eggs, marked with
dark spots. The nests of all are constructed with the utmost care.