Part 7

General colour above yellowish olive green. Forehead whitish, bordered on either side by a blackish streak. Crown of the head and crest bright lemon yellow, becoming deep reddish orange behind. Wings brown with white tips to the secondaries and a black bar across the upper part. Median and greater wing coverts with white margins. Under parts greenish buff. The female lacks the bright orange in the crest and the young bird has no crest. Length 3·6 in.; wing 2·1 in.

THE FIRECREST Regulus ignicapillus (C. L. Brehm)

This species is a rare wanderer to our southern counties during the winter months, although doubtless from its extreme similarity to the Goldcrest it may have been overlooked on several occasions. It nests throughout Southern and Central Europe, migrating southwards from its more northerly quarters on the approach of winter.

In appearance it hardly differs from the Goldcrest, but may be distinguished at all ages by a yellow frontal streak that passes backwards over the eye, succeeded by a black line through the eye, while another black streak runs backwards from the nape. Length 3·7 in.; wing 2·1 in.

THE YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER Phylloscopus superciliosus (J. F. Gmelin)

This is an Asiatic species breeding in North-Eastern Siberia and wintering in South China, Burma, and North-Eastern India. It has been obtained on several occasions in these islands.

The upper parts are olive green, under parts pale yellow. There is a faint yellowish stripe along the crown of the head and a very conspicuous yellow stripe, which passes over the eye, from the base of the bill to the nape. There are two bands of lemon yellow across the coverts, and the inner web of the outer tail feathers is margined with white. Length 3·8 in.; wing 2·15 in.

PALLAS' WILLOW WARBLER Phylloscopus proregulus (Pallas)

A single example of this Asiatic species has been obtained in Great Britain, its true home being across Eastern Siberia, where it nests from Lake Baikal to the Himalayas and Northern China. It closely resembles the Yellow-browed Warbler, but its colours are brighter. The crown stripe is well marked. The inner web of the outer tail feathers is not margined with white, but its most distinctive feature is the bright lemon yellow rump. Length 3·7 in.; wing 2 in.

THE GREENISH WILLOW WARBLER Phylloscopus viridanus, Blyth

In summer this species inhabits Western Siberia from the Urals to the Himalayas and has only occurred once in England. It is very similar to our Willow Warbler, but the tips of the greater wing coverts are whitish and form a distinct bar. Length 4·25 in.; wing 2·25 in.

THE CHIFFCHAFF Phylloscopus collybita, Vieillot

It has yearly been our delight to listen for the cheery "chiff chaff" which announces the first arrival of this bird. Winter is hardly over, the March winds still blow and the trees are bare, but still he comes to brave our inclement weather and retain his position as the first harbinger of spring. A small green Warbler of skulking habits, we will have to watch carefully if we wish to see him, for as we approach he will leave his post high up on some tree and hide in the undergrowth. For some weeks he wanders about the country, here to-day and gone to-morrow--apparently at the dictates of his own will, but in reality ever creeping up steadily northwards in the trail of departing winter. At the end of April or beginning of May, having chosen his mate, the duties of nest-building begin. The nest is loosely placed in some bramble thicket or undergrowth in a wood, and often appears as though it had been carelessly thrown there. It is dome or oval shaped, loosely built of bents, moss, and leaves, and warmly lined with feathers. The six eggs are white, dotted and spotted with dark reddish brown.

Its food consists almost entirely of small flies, caterpillars, and other insects, which it captures among the branches and leaves of the trees, rarely descending to the ground. Two broods are reared in the season and the rest of the summer is spent quietly and unobtrusively till, in October, the first storms of winter and growing scarcity of food compel it to retire southwards. This it does reluctantly, and a certain number spend the winter in the milder climate of Devon and Cornwall.

The upper parts are olive green; wing coverts, quills, and tail feathers brown, edged with the same colour. Under parts whitish. There is a pale yellowish white streak above the eye. The sexes are alike in plumage and the young are slightly greener. Length 4·6 in.; wing 2·35 in.

This species may be distinguished from the Willow Wren by its smaller size and darker legs. The second quill is equal to the seventh and the outer webs are emarginated near their tips up to and including the sixth. In the Willow Wren the emargination only reaches the fifth and the second is equal in length to the sixth. It should be remembered that the first quill is very short and inconspicuous, so that the first apparent quill is the second.

This species is scarcer and more local than the Willow Wren. In Scotland it is local and is only a straggler to the north of that country and the surrounding islands.

THE SIBERIAN CHIFFCHAFF Phylloscopus tristis, Blyth

One example of this small warbler, that breeds in Western Siberia, migrating to Turkestan and India in winter, was obtained at a lighthouse off the Orkneys in 1902. It is rather smaller and browner than our common Chiffchaff and has the under parts buffish white. It may, however, always be recognised by the shortness of the second primary, which comes between the seventh and the eighth, or is even shorter than the eighth.

THE WILLOW WREN Phylloscopus trochilus (Linnæus)

The Willow Wren is closely allied to the Chiffchaff and so like it in general appearance as to need a critical examination, when dead, to enable it to be recognised. In habits also there is little difference to be noted. Its range is more extensive, for as far north as the birch woods extend, this hardy little wanderer makes his home, retiring at the end of summer to Southern Europe and Africa. Throughout our islands it is extremely common. Arriving about the last week of March, it at once makes its presence known by its bright little song, which is very short and somewhat resembles the Chaffinch's; it is repeated again and again, and may be heard right through the summer and sometimes again after the moult in the late autumn, just before their final departure.

The nest is similar in size, shape, and materials to that of the Chiffchaff, but differs in its position, being generally placed very near and often right on the ground, always well concealed in the undergrowth, whereas with the Chiffchaff it is always off the ground, sometimes only an inch or two, but more often some eighteen inches or two feet. The eggs are white with pale rufous spots; these markings are much paler than on those of the Chiffchaff, less clean cut, and more numerous.

Apart, however, from the breeding birds, an enormous number of Willow Wrens pass through this country at migration time. England seems to lie in the main track of these birds when they are making for their summer quarters in higher latitudes. From early April to the middle or end of May they simply pour through this country in incredible numbers. The whole extent of the south coast is involved, and often for several days at a time they arrive in millions. These birds pass straight on, relentlessly pursuing their course, and having crossed the Channel one night, prepare during the following day for a still longer journey across the North Sea during the coming night. Early in August the return journey commences, and in still greater numbers they steadily pass southwards, till by October they are, let us hope, enjoying peace and plenty under sunny skies.

Extremely like the Chiffchaff, but rather larger, brighter in colour, and with paler legs. Its distinctive characteristics have been noted under the preceding species. Length 4·9 in.; wing 2·7 in.

THE WOOD WREN Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Bechstein)

Although a member of the same family as the last two species, this bird is much more local. It is not until the end of April that he reaches our shores and his clear and melodious little song, which may be syllabled as "chit, chit, chit, chit, tri-tr-tr-tre," can be heard. His favourite haunts are suitable woods where large timber, especially beech, abound. Here he may be seen as, with the restless activity so characteristic of his family, he searches among the upper branches of the trees for those insects which, with berries of all kinds, form his staple food.

At the foot of some beech-tree, on the ground, or more rarely in some tangled thicket, the nest is built and well concealed by the use of materials similar to the surroundings among which it is placed. It is lined with grass and horsehair, but feathers, so freely used by the Chiffchaff and Willow Wren, are never found. The eggs are white, very thickly and uniformly mottled with dark red. After the young are hatched it becomes silent, and leaves us early in September.

The adult has the upper parts of a bright yellowish green, with a characteristic yellow streak above and behind the eye. The wings are brown edged with yellowish green. Throat and breast sulphur yellow, rest of under parts white. Bill and legs brown. Length 5·2 in.; wing 3·1 in. The larger size and brighter coloration are distinctive of this species.