Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 7 of 9.djvu/44

 countries alluded to may be said to occur approximately within a period of three weeks—a striking difference when compared with the corresponding period of two months during which the Marsh Warbler is arriving.

The localities frequented by the Marsh Warbler are different from those in which we are accustomed to find the Reed Warbler. The latter bird inhabits the dense masses of Arundo phragmites, and sometimes, it is true, when such conditions are not available, the withy beds that are found along the banks of our larger rivers; but for the Marsh Warbler the dense reed beds never seem to possess a similar attraction. There are records of the nest having been found amongst reeds—to the authenticity of which, however, some doubt is attached—and in Texel I was taken amongst the reeds in order to hear the males singing, but no trace of them was to be found; and it is doubtful whether my friends were really acquainted with the species. In the choice of a situation for breeding purposes a close proximity to water is by no means a necessity, for sometimes they inhabit steep banks, where a year or so previously the trees have been felled and the ground has become thickly overgrown with such bushes as hazel, elder, and ash, and carpeted with a luxuriant undergrowth, or even thick hedgerows surrounding orchards. On the other hand, they may be found along the very banks of a river, providing that the vegetation and bushes are sufficiently dense to afford protection. However, the osier bed seems to be preferred to any various descriptions, usually damp, sometimes surrounded by other situation, and by this term I mean small plantations of or even partially filled with water, but always having a relatively drier portion which can be resorted to by the birds for the purpose of reproduction. In Texel there are many of these small plantations in which the willows and other trees have been allowed to grow to a considerable size, but they are resorted to nevertheless so long as the undergrowth is sufficiently dense. I recollect two males inhabiting one such