Kent, about Romney Marsh: it has been found also in
Sussex ; and Dr. Moore of Plymouth possesses a specimen
taken in Devonshire, where, however, it is considered rare.
I t is also included in Mr. Templeton’s Catalogue of the
Birds of Ireland, as having been once seen in the vicinity of
Belfast.
The Reed Warbler is abundant in Holland; frequents
Germany and France ; is included among the Birds of Provence
by Polydore Roux ; and, according to S. Savi, is
common in Italy from spring to October.
The beak is longer than that of the Grasshopper Warbler
or the Sedge Warbler, and rather broader at the base, of a
pale brown colour, the under mandible inclining to a yellowish
white; the irides brown : the head, neck, and all the
upper surface of the body, of a uniform pale brown colour
with a tinge of chestnut, the primary quill-feathers being a
little darker: the form of the tail rounded, the outside feather
being one-quarter of an inch shorter than that in the middle.
The chin and throat white ; breast, belly, flanks, and under
tail-coverts, pale buff, rather lighter in colour along the
middle line than on the sides. Legs, toes, and claws, pale
brown.
The length of the male bird five inches and a half. From
the carpal joint to the end of the longest quill-feather, two
inches and five-eighths : the first feather very short; the second,
third, and fourth nearly equal in length, the third the
longest.
The female is rather less than the male, measuring only
five inches in length; but is not otherwise unlike the
male.
The character of the beak, the entire absence of the huffy
white stripe over the ear-coverts, and the uniform colour of
the whole of the upper surface of the body of this bird, distinguish
it from either of the two species immediately preceding
it, with both of which, however, it has many habits in
common.
Mr. Hoy informs me that the Sedge and Reed Warblers
retain their old plumage for some time after breeding, and
migrate before they change their feathers. A Reed Warbler
kept in confinement had not moulted at the beginning of
December 1837.
The vignette below represents the nest of the Reed Warbler,
obtained from a reed-bed near the Thames.
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