Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 7 of 9.djvu/98

 The greater part of the construction of the nest is the work of the female. I have never seen a male sharing this duty with her, but like the males of so many species he follows her closely whilst she is engaged in searching for building material. The nest is composed for the most part of pieces of reed which the female herself breaks off, and these pieces are bound together with pond weed or sheep's wool if it can be obtained close at hand. In Texel, for instance, the bird flies out on to the adjoining meadows in search of wool, and whilst on these short excursions sometimes settles upon telegraph wires. The nest is woven to about six upright stems of the reed, and, so far as shape and structure are concerned, is very similar to that of the Reed Warbler, though considerably larger.

The song, which is loud and uttered frequently, resembles to some extent the croaking of frogs.

In April the bird can be seen searching for food amongst the seed heads of the reeds, and in Hungary it is not uncommonly found inside the eel nets, which are there hung on the reeds to dry, evidently attracted by the aquatic insects within.