Breeding numerously in Spain and South-East France, this species has only once occurred here, namely on St. Kilda in June 1894.
The upper parts are dull grey and under parts chestnut. There is a red ring round the eye and a conspicuous white moustache-like streak extending backwards from the bill. The female is much duller and the under parts are pale buff. Length 4·7 in.; wing 2·3 in.
THE DARTFORD WARBLER
Sylvia undata (Boddært)
DARTFORD WARBLER
Sylvia undata
Male (above). Young (below)
This bird, which is extremely rare and local with us, is the only resident member of its genus in these islands. Braving as it does our changeable and stormy climate, it is perhaps not surprising that its numbers are few, for, feeding almost entirely on insects, it must at times suffer severely from lack of food. Local, perhaps, is hardly a strong enough word to express the very stay-at-home habits of this cheery little fellow; he seems to have gone to the opposite extreme, and, while his congeners cross large stretches of the earth twice a year, he remains at home practically on the same bush. In habits he is very skulking, hiding in thick furze bushes. He will, when disturbed, take a short flight and then dive down into the thickest part of another shelter, and all we can notice in the short glimpse we get of him, is that he is extremely dark. The common on which he lives, may be many miles in extent, and apparently uniformly covered with furze and rank grass, and yet he will only be found in a special batch of furze perhaps not a hundred yards in length; there, summer and winter, we may always find a small colony, while on the rest of the common we shall hardly ever see a single individual. In spring he becomes bolder, and we may watch him as he sits on the topmost spray of a bush, flirting his tail and throwing his body and wings into many and varied positions while he rattles forth the hurried medley of notes which serves him for a song.
The nest, which is placed low down in a furze bush and well concealed, is formed of bents and furze loosely woven together and is lined with horsehair, wool, or finer grass according to the materials at hand. The eggs are whitish, very closely speckled with reddish brown, and two broods are frequently raised in the season. The sexes are alike, and have the upper parts dark slate grey. Tail long and fan-shaped, the two outer pairs of feathers having white margins and tips. Under parts chestnut streaked with white in autumn. Length 5·1 in.; wing 2·2 in.
It is found only in the South of England and sparingly in Norfolk, Suffolk, and the Midlands.
THE GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN
Regulus cristatus, K. L. Koch
The Goldcrest is the smallest of all our birds, and though not often seen it is extremely abundant wherever a fir or cone-fir plantation is to be found. Here it spends its life hopping about restlessly in search of the small flies and insects on which it exists. It has hardly any song, and the call-note is a very feeble high-pitched squeak, which often may be heard when the bird itself is invisible. The nest is, perhaps, the neatest and most beautiful structure of any to be seen in our islands, the Long-tailed Tit’s not excepted; it is deep and cup-shaped, the outside being as well finished as the interior. The bough of a non-deciduous tree is almost invariably chosen, and from the end of the bough the nest is suspended, being firmly secured to the small lateral twigs. It is composed of moss, leaves, and fir needles woven with the aid of wool and cobwebs into a compact felted mass, the interior being lined with wool and a profusion of feathers. Six to ten eggs form the clutch; they are creamy white, minutely and profusely dotted with reddish brown.