Common everywhere, and apt to warble when on the wing, springing up out of the hedge, with its jar–jar–jar, jee–jee–jee, and in a minute or two diving down into it again.
The Less Whitethroat (Sylvia sylvicella), iii., 154.
Rare about Manchester, building in hedges a large and clumsy nest, similar to that of a greenfinch. The song is given only from the very heart of thick–foliaged trees.
The Wood Warbler, or Wood Wren (Sylvia sylvicola), iii., 155.
A very lovely little bird; its song, or trill, a repetition of two notes, and its nest very hard to find. While singing, it sits on the bough and seems to tremble, the wings being quivered elegantly.
The Whinchat (Sylvia rubetra), iii., 141.
A common little bird, breeding everywhere, usually selecting uncultivated lands, and sometimes hay–fields, but always having its nest upon the ground. About Urmston it is known as the “utic,” from its peculiar cry, “tic, tic, utic.” In habits sprightly and cheerful, popping about for ever from one spray to another.
The Willow Warbler, or Willow Wren (Sylvia Trochilus), iii., 156.
This little fellow is common in most places,—woods, gardens, hedgerows,—choosing the top of the trees to sing in. It ceases to sing after pairing, devoting itself to the construction of its large nest, which is usually protected with a lid, and built of grass, moss, and feathers. In the summer of 1858, Edward Jacques found a nest in Hough–end Clough, with a dead blackbird alongside, from which the feathers had all been plucked, and used in the construction. Nowhere is it more numerous or happy than about Urmston, arriving clean as a daisy, after its journey of a thousand miles or more.