of the Savicoling : thus it frequents open situations, but, upon being disturbed, flies to the nearest scrub
L AIG C y . Ss U d
or patch of herbage, in which it either secretes itself or passes through to the other side and makes off
c 5 3
to a distance, but not far enough to prevent tl
oi 4 Al it rese 2G > -atears.
or the upright position of the male—in which it resembles the Whea e ae |
Hatten range of mountains, on the Ist of July accidentally discovered some

1e upward and downward movement of the tail being seen,
Mr. Wolf, who accompanied

me to the celebrated Snee - ae oe
young birds which were just forward enough to hop out ON fine mMesi—a ee i ae who co
never before seen the bird at this age in a state of nature. Those who are acquainted wut the nestling-
plumage of the Robin would immediately perceive, on an examination of ao young we this Species stat
there must be an intimate alliance between the two, the colour and markings of both being precisely similar;
or if there be any difference, it consists in the buffy striations being somewhat longer and more conspicuous,
and in the bill Alto being a trifle longer, in the young of the present species than in Cat al its near ally
The nest we did not find ; but it is stated to be cup-shaped, and placed in a depression of the ground, by
the side of a stone or at the foot of a tree.
with this part of the bird’s economy from personal observation, it will be well to give the account published

by Mr. Wheelwright, from notes made by him in the district of Quickiock, in Lapland, several degrees

Not having myself had an opportunity of becoming acquainted

further north than the Dovrefjeld :— as

“Contrary to my expectations, this handsome little Warbler is rare in this district, and very local. I
think it ce latest of all the Warblers ; for I did not see one till early in June, when they came dropping
in singly, stayed a few days in the lowlands, and then made their way up at once to the flat swampy
meadows at the foot of and between the fells. Here, among the stunted willow-bushes, always near water,
you may see the female creeping from branch to branch like a mouse, while the male, perched on the top
of a high bush or a dead tree, trills out his clear, loud, rich song, which is certainly louder than that of
any other Warbler, and well deserves its Lapp name of ‘ sadden kiellinen,’ or ‘ handred tongues.’ It is totally
different from anything I ever heard before, and it is quite impossible to describe it on paper. The nest is
most difficult of detection ; and I only procured two, on the 2/th of June, on one of which I caught the
old female. Both were built 7 the ground, and were quite open, or without shelter of any kind. ‘They
were formed of dry grass, were deep and cup-shaped. Each contained six eggs, of a pale bluish green
minutely spotted with reddish brown, giving them arusty appearance. Young fliers were shot near the end of
July. The habits of this Warbler are certainly more aquatic than those of the Redstart, m proof of which I
may mention that on the 3rd of August, 1863, I shot a female while beating a meadow in Wernland for Double
Snipe. From what I saw of the bird in Norway, I should have inferred that it is not a frequenter of the
drier parts of the countries it inhabits, and that arable lands do not tempt it to exhibit its blue throat for the
envy of the sombre-tinted Lark, or to contrast its colours with the red breast of the Robin. — Its peculiar
silken plumage indicates, indeed, that low swampy grounds are the localities in which it loves to dwell:
beneath the canopy of overgrowing shrubs, in water-courses, or in gardens with huge cabbages, and fields
of turnips, under the great leaves of which it can shelter itself from observation and find an abundant supply
of insect food, are also situations it affects.

‘As autumn approaches, it leaves its breeding-grounds as suddenly as it appeared in spring ; but whither
it goes, as whence it came, is equally unknown. Any one of my readers who is attached to the study of
birds, and can brave the keen air of the Dovre, would do well to proceed thither, make himself acquainted
with the bird in a state of nature, and farnish us with the result of his observations. At Hjerkin he will
find a comfortable hospice, and every attention from the kind-hearted people of that elevated region.”

Mr. Alfred Newton tells me that in Lapland, towards the close of the summer, this species resorts to the
immediate neighbourhood of houses and barns, showing as much familiarity with mankind at that time of
the year as the Redbreast constantly does.

On referring to my ‘ Journal in Norway,’ I find the following note :—« A conspicuous feature of this bird in
the breeding-season is the bright yellow colouring of the gape, which offers a strong contrast to the black of
the bill and the blue of the breast; in the female the same part and the basal half of the bill is dull orange,
while in the young it is of a pulpy white, except at the extreme base, where it is yellow.”

The Plate represents the two sexes, of the natural size, with one of the most interesting of our bog-plants,
the Parnassia palustris.