THE MYRTLE BEE.
(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.
Charles Brown.