The garden warbler is often said to rank next to the blackcap as a melodist. The songs of these two species have a great resemblance; it is, indeed, rare to find two songsters, however closely allied, so much alike in their language. The garden warbler’s song is like an imitation of the blackcap’s, but is not so powerful and brilliant: some of its notes possess the same bright, pure, musical quality, but they are hurriedly delivered, shorter, more broken up, as it were. On the other hand, to compensate for its inferior character, there is more of it; the bird, sitting concealed among the clustering leaves, will sing by the hour, his rapid, warbled strain sometimes lasting for several minutes without a break. The garden warbler is a late bird, seldom arriving in this country before the end of April. It builds a rather slight nest, in a bush near the ground, of dry grass and moss, lined with hair and fibrous roots. The eggs are five in number, and are dull white, sometimes greenish white, blotched and speckled with dull brown and grey. The food of this warbler consists of small insects; and it is also fond of fruit and berries. * * * * * Six species of the genus Sylvia are included in books on British birds: the four already described, the orphean warbler (_Sylvia orphea_), an accidental visitor from Central and Southern Europe, and the barred warbler (_Sylvia nisoria_), from Central, South, and East Europe. Furze-Wren, or Dartford Warbler. Melizophilus undatus. Upper parts greyish black; wing-coverts and feathers blackish brown; outer tail feathers broadly, and the rest narrowly, tipped with light brownish grey; under parts chestnut-brown; belly white. Tail long; wings very short. Length, five inches. [Illustration: FIG. 29.--DARTFORD WARBLER. ⅓ natural size.] * * * * *