Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 4 of 9.djvu/57

 carried as he flutters from one dead stem of vegetation to another.

When pairing has taken place the male confines himself to a limited part of the area over which he had previously been accustomed to wander, and the nest is then commenced, both sexes sharing in its construction. The excitement which was so prominent on the first arrival of the female gradually disappears, but at intervals, which I believe to be just previous to coition, it again becomes very marked. Facing one another on opposite branches they utter their harsh, scolding note and flutter their wings, or the male, while pursuing the female, seizes her and together they flutter to the ground.

The nest, placed as a rule a few feet from the ground in thick hedgerows, small holly bushes or brambles, is lightly and loosely built, principally of dead grass mixed with pieces of thistle or wool. The coarse grasses are placed on the outside, but more slender pieces of dead vegetation are used towards the interior, the lining being of horsehair and fine roots. Five eggs are usually laid.

The young are hatched about the second week in June, and the male shares with the female the task of tending them. Both sexes are inclined to be rather shy whilst performing their parental duties, but I have failed to notice any appreciable difference in this respect in the character of the sexes. Whilst carrying food, a note, which is somewhat different in the two sexes, is frequently uttered, the male's, being a soft hissing note, but the female's rather harsher. After having actually delivered the food to the young they utter their note very hurriedly as if alarmed at what they had done. The fæces, enclosed in the usual membraneous sac, are carried some distance away from the nest.

If the young, especially after having left the nest, are approached suddenly or otherwise interfered with, the parents become intensely excited. This can easily be tested by