blackcap, which it closely resembles, by having the ear-coverts black like the head, whereas in
the latter species the ear-coverts are whitish. The sexes differ in coloration. Length 6 in.
[165 mm.]. The general colour of the male, as to the upper surface, is of a slate-grey ;
the head, including the ear-coverts, black very sharply defined from the whitethroat ; wings
like the back in coloration ; middle tail feathers black ; next pairs black tipped with white, the
outermost having the outer web white ; under surface of body white, tinged on the chest with
greyish buff and more strongly so on the sides of the body and flanks. The adult female has
the upper parts brownish grey, the head a trifle darker and browner, [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. Breeds in North-west Africa from Marocco to Tripoli, and South-western
Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula, the greater part of France, Switzerland, and in small
numbers north to Luxemburg, Italy, and Sicily. From Dalmatia and Montenegro its range
extends southward to Greece, and in Asia Minor, Palestine, Persia, Afghanistan, and Turkestan
it is replaced by an allied race. The winter quarters of the western form lie in Africa, prob-
ably in the Sahara or the tropical west ; while the eastern form ranges south to SomalUand,
Arabia, and India. Four specimens have been taken in England (two Sussex, one each
Middlesex and Yorks), where there is a suspicion that it may have bred. [F. c. R. j.]

BARRED-WARBLER [Sylvia nisdria (Bechstein). French, babillarde 6perviere; German,
Sperbergrasmiicke ; Italian, bigia padovana].

1. Description. Has the upper and under tail-coverts barred, and the bastard primary
extremely short and not reaching to the end of the coverts. The sexes are alike, except
that the female is browner and less barred below. Length 6 in. [153 mm.]. Upper sur-
face leaden grey ; lower back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and scapulars tipped with white, giving

1 Strictly Sylvia hortensit (Gmelin), but this name has for many years been used for the garden-warbler.



488 RARE BRITISH BIRDS

these parts a barred appearance ; primaries and secondaries smoke-brown, narrowly fringed on
the outer web with white; tail like the back in colour, tipped and margined on the outer
web with white ; under surface of the body, including the sides and flanks, white, subterminally
barred with crescentic bands of dark grey ; iris pale yellow ; bill dark horn, yellowish at the base
of the lower mandible ; legs horn-colour. The young birds lack the barring, and are grey above
and white below ; breast and flanks tinged with greyish buff. [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. Widely distributed in the breeding season in Europe, from Southern
Sweden and the south shore of the Gulf of Finland east to the Urals and south to the
Black Sea, as well as in Denmark, Germany, Austro-Hungary, North Italy, Roumania, Bulgaria,
Montenegro, and Dalmatia. In Asia east to the Tian Shan it is replaced by a closely allied
form. The winter quarters of the European race lie in North-east Africa. In the British Isles
nearly fifty occurrences are on record, of which only three are from Ireland. [F. c. R. j.]

SUBALPINE-WARBLER [Sylvia cantillans Pallas; Sylvia subalpina Bonelli. French
babillarde subalpine ; German, weissbartige Strauchsdnger ; Italian, sterpazzolina].

1. Description. Has the chin, throat, and upper chest reddish chesnut. The sexes differ
in coloration. Length 5 in. [127 mm.]. The male has the upper surface of the body, sides of
the face and lores bluish grey ; wings blackish brown with lighter margins ; tail blackish brown,
the outermost pair for the greater part white, the second and third outermost pairs with
an elongated patch of white at the tip, a clearly defined white moustached streak ; iris brown ;
eyelids reddish ; legs and toes brown. The female has the upper parts sandy brown and the
under surface white, tinged with light buff on the chest and sides of the body ; wings and tail
as in the male. [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. The western form of this species breeds in Sardinia and Corsica, locally
in Italy, Sicily, the Riviera, Spain, and Portugal. In the Eastern Mediterranean and in North-
west Africa it is replaced by allied races. As a rule it is sedentary or only subject to local
movements, and it is extraordinary that specimens should have been obtained on St. Kilda
(June 1894) and Fair Island (May 1908). [F. c. R. j.]

YELLOWBROWED-WARBLER [Phylloscopus superciliosus (Gmelin)]. German, Gelbbrauiger-
Laubsanger].

1. Description. Distinguished by having a double bar of white across the wings. The
sexes are alike, except that the female is a trifle duller. Length 4 in. [102 mm.]. Head, back,
and scapulars greenish olive, becoming brighter on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; primaries
and secondaries ash-brown, margined on the outer web with yellowish olive; greater and
median wing-coverts tipped with yellowish white, forming a double wing-bar ; tail feathers ash-
brown, margined on the outer web with yellowish olive, a well-defined superciliary stripe of
golden yellow ; cheeks yellow-olive, shaded with darker olive ; chin, throat, chest, and belly
white, tinged with yellow, darkest on the sides of the body and flanks ; iris dark brown ; bill
dark brown ; legs light brown. The adults after the autumn moult have the upper parts brighter
and greener, and the superciliary stripe and wing-bars much deeper yellow, [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. Breeds in Siberia from the Ob valley east to the Sea of Okhotsk and
north almost to the tundra bordering on the Arctic Ocean. Southward its breeding range
extends to Lake Baikal, Transbaikalia, Ussuria, etc. Its principal winter quarters lie in
S. China, Burma, Assam, and Bengal, but it frequently wanders to Europe, and has been
recorded from the British Isles (about sixty), Heligoland (eighty), Holland, Italy, Austria, and
Germany, as well as Russia. It is replaced by an allied race on the Tian Shan, Himalayas, etc.,
which winters in India. [F. c. R. J.]



CLASSIFIED NOTES 489

PALLAS' WILLOW-WARBLER (I'hyllwojtua prorfyulus (Pallas). German, Goldhahnclien-



1. Description. Recognised by a double wing-bar and a broad and well-defined golden
yellow streak down the middle of the crown. The sexes are alike, excepting that the female is
slightly duller in coloration. Length 3J in. [95 ram.]. General colour of the upper surface
olive-green, darkest on the head, a broad hand down the middle of the head, a wide eyebrow
and a streak below the eye golden yellow; rump primrose-yellow; primary flight-feathers
blackish brown, margined on the outer web with olive-yellow ; greater and median wing-coverts
widely tipped with golden yellow, forming two conspicuous wing-bars ; cheeks and sides of the
face bright yellow ; under surface white, suffused with yellow, especially on the chin, sides of
the body, and under toil-coverts : axillarics and under wing-coverts yellow, fw. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. Breeds in Siberia from the Lena to the Pacific Ocean and south to the
Stanovoi Mountains, while a closely allied race nests in the mountain forests of the Himalayas
from Hazara and Kashmir to Butan. The greater part of this species migrates to South
China, but some have been recorded from Orenburg (Russia), Heligoland, Dalmatia, and once
in England (Norfolk, October 1896). [F. c. R. .r.]

GREENISH WILLOW- WARBLER [Phyllfocopua viriddnus Blyth].

1. Description. Recognised by having only one wing-bar. The sexes are alike in colora-
tion, except that the female is duller. Length 4 in. [102 mm.]. General colour of the upper
parts greenish olive, slightly paler on the rump, a well-marked pale yellow eyebrow stripe;
wings blackish brown, bordered on the outer web with yellow, the greater coverts being tipped
with yellowish white, forming a wing-bar ; tail ash-brown, narrowly edged with yellow on the
outer web. General colour of the under surface white, washed with yellow ; axillarics, under
wing-coverts, and thighs primrose-yellow. The third, fourth, and fifth primaries longest, and
the second primary is intermediate in length between the seventh and eighth, [w. p. p.
and T. w.]

2. Distribution. This species is known to breed in the Russian Baltic Provinces (and
probably also in North-east Russia), as well as from Central Russia to Western Siberia as far as
the Altai range, parts of Northern Turkestan, and possibly even to Gilgit and Kashmir. It is
replaced by other races in East Siberia, and from the Caucasus to Afghanistan. The normal
winter quarters lie in the Indian Peninsula, but the eastern race winters in Pegu, the Malay
Peninsula, Cochin China, etc. It has occurred three times on Heligoland and once in England
(Lines., September 1896). [F. c. R. J.]

SIBERIAN-CHIFFCHAFF [Phylldacopus collybita tristis Blyth. German, sibirischer
Laubsiinger].

1. Description. Differs from the above in having no yellow on the under parts, excepting
on the axillaries. Length 5 in. [127 mm.]. General colour above ash-brown, suffused with
yellow, especially on the rump, an indistinct dull yellowish white eyebrow stripe ; wings ash-
brown, slightly margined on the outer web with yellowish green ; tail similar to the wings ;
general colour of the under surface white, tinged with buff, especially on the sides of the face
and sides of the body; the third and fourth primaries are the longest; second primary equal
to the seventh or slightly shorter, [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. In Europe this race is only known to breed in North-east Russia from
the Petschora delta eastward, and south to the Middle Ural range. In Asia its breeding range
extends from Orenburg through Western Siberia and the Altai range east to Lake Baikal. In
winter it migrates through Turkestan to Mesopotamia and the northern part of India. Has



490 RARE BRITISH BIRDS

been obtained on Heligoland, and occurs regularly in small numbers in autumn on Fair Island,
and occasionally in other parts of Scotland. [F. c. R. J.]

SCANDINAVIAN-CHIFFCHAFF [Phylloscopus collijbita abietinus (Nilsson)].

1. Description. Resembles the common-chiffchaff, but is slightly larger and a little paler
in coloration, the wing measuring 58 mm. against 55 of the common-chiffchaff. [w. p. p.
and T. w.J

2. Distribution. The breeding limits of this race are imperfectly known at present, but it
apparently breeds in Scandinavia, probably over a considerable part of Eastern Germany, Austro-
Hungary, Bosnia and Montenegro, and Russia south to the Caucasus and north to about lat. 65.
Its chief winter quarters lie in South-eastern Europe, Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, and North-
east Africa, but it seems to occur occasionally in West Europe, and has once been recorded
from the Isle of Wight (April 1907) and regularly from Fair Island on both passages. [F. c. E. j.]

EVERSMANN'S WARBLER [Phylloscopus borealis (Blasius). German, nordiscker
Laubsdnger].

1. Description. -Differs from the above-mentioned species in having two wing-bars.
Length 4J in. [112 mm.]. General colour of the upper parts dull olive-green, a well-defined
eyebrow of yellowish white extending to the back of the head ; median and greater wing-
coverts tipped with greyish white, forming two wing-bars wings and tail ash-brown, narrowly
margined with olive-green ; under surface of the body white, suffused with pale yellow, darkest
on the breast and sides of the body; axillaries and under wing-coverts pale yellow ; the third
and fourth primary are longest, second primary intermediate in length between the fifth and
sixth, [w. P. P. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. This species is confined in Europe during the breeding season to a small
district of Norway (Finmark) and Northern Russia, including the Kola Peninsula, the Archangel
government, the Petschora valley, and the northern part of the Perm government. In Asia
it ranges through Siberia east to Kamtschatka, Corea, and Ussuria. It migrates through Japan
and China, wintering in the Malay Peninsula and part of the Malay Archipelago as far as
Flores, Sumba, and the S. Moluccas. Has occurred twice in Scotland (Sule Skerry, Orkneys,
September 1902, and Fair Island, September 1908). [F. c. R. J.]

[AMERICAN RUBYCROWNED-KINGLET [Regulus calendula (Linnaeus)]. Two are said to have
been shot in Scotland, but the records are not sufficiently authenticated for insertion in the
British list. [F. c. R. J.] ]

RUFOUS -WARBLER [Agrobdtes galactotes galactotes (Temminck) ; Aedon galactodes (Tem-
ininck). German, rostfarbiger Sanger ; Italian, rusignolo d' Africa].

1. Description. Recognised by the chesnut-coloured tail, barred at the tip with
white and black. The sexes are alike in size and coloration. Length 6J in. [165 mm.].
General colour of the upper surface of the body rich sandy buff, a well-defined white eyebrow
reaching from the nostrils to the hinder part of the crown ; lores blackish brown ; primaries
and secondaries ash-brown, margined on the outer web with greyish buff; tail feathers rich
chesnut, broadly barred at the tip with white and submarginally with black ; under surface of
the body bumsh white, darkest on the chest and sides of the body ; axillaries and under wing-
coverts brownish buff; legs, feet, and claws horn colour, [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. The western race of this species breeds in North Africa from Marocco
to Egypt, and also in Palestine and the Iberian Peninsula, but chiefly in the south and east of
the latter. It is migratory and visits the Sahara, but its winter quarters are not known, though



CLASSIFIED NOTES 491

probably it stays in some of the oases. It occurs in Italy from time to time, and has been
recorded three times from England (Devon two and Sussex one) and once from Ireland. In
Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula it is replaced by an allied form, and other races are
met with in East Africa and West Asia. [F. c. R. J.]

BROWNBACKED-WARBLER [Agrobdtes galactotes syrlacus (Hemprich and Ehrenberg).
German, oeatlicher Heckensanycr ; Italian, rusignolo levantino].

1. Description. Closely resembles the above, but the upper parts are greyish brown instead
of chesnut, and the middle tail feathers are coloured like the back. Length 6i in. [165 mm.].
General colour of the upper surface of the body, including the middle pair of tail feathers,
greyish brown; primaries and secondaries greyish brown, narrowly margined with whitish ; a
well-marked white eyebrow, reaching from the lores to the nape ; under surface of the body
greyish white, darkest on the chest and sides of the body ; axillaries and under wing-coverts
pale isabelline; upper mandible brown, lower mandible horn-colour; legs, feet, and claw horn-
colour, [w. i>. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. This race inhabits the Balkan Peninsula from South Dalinatia and South
Herzegovina to Greece, the Ionian Isles, and the islands of the Archipelago. In Asia it is also
found in Asia Minor, and from the Lebanon northward in Syria. It winters in South Arabia,
North Somaliland, and occasionally in East Africa. It has been recorded from Italy, and twice
from England (Kent, 1907 ; Sussex, 1910). [F. c. R. J.]

RADDE'S BUSH-WARBLER [Herbivtcula schwdrzi (Radde) ; Liu;cini6la schwdrzi (Radde)J.

1. Description. Distinguished by its long first (outermost) primary, which is half as long
as the penultimate long primary. The sexes are alike in coloration. Length 5 in. [127 mm.].
General colour of the upper parts olive-brown, purer olive on the lower back and rump ; a well-
marked yellow eyebrow from the lores to the nape ; wings and tail ash-brown, margined on the
outer web with olive-green ; under surface of the body yellowish white, most strongly marked
on the chest and sides of the body; under tail-coverts yellowish buff'; axillaries and under
wing-coverts yellowish buff; legs, feet, and claws pale horn-colour. After the autumn moult
the vipper parts become tawny olive, and the under parts are more or less suffused with tawny
buff. [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. This species breeds from Kultuk on Lake Baikal to Ussuria and the
island of Saghalien, but there is some evidence that it is also found in the nesting season
farther westward (between Irkutsk and Tomsk). It winters in South China, Pegu, and Tenas-
serim, and has once been recorded from England (Lines., October 1898). [F. c. R. j.]

ICTERINE- WARBLER [Hypoldia icterina (Vieillot). French, bee fin d poitrine jaune ;
German, Gartenspotter ; Italian, canapino maggiore].

1. Description. Recognised by its yellow upper and under parts. The sexes are alike
except that the female is rather less brightly coloured. Length 5 in. [139 mm.]. Upper
surface of the body dull olive-yellow ; wings and tail ash-brown, margined on the outer web
with olive-yellow; lores, feathers round the eye, and the entire under parts pale primrose-
yellow, darkest on the sides of the body ; axillaries and under wing-coverts yellowish white ;
the third primary longest, the second primary intermediate between the fourth and fifth. After
the autumn moult the olive-yellow of the upper parts is slightly greyer, and the under surface
paler, [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. Generally distributed over the greater part of the European continent
in the breeding season, except in Norway beyond lat. 67 , Sweden north of about lat. 63, and
Northern Finland and Russia from about 57 in the Urals. It becomes scarce in South Russia,



492 RARE BRITISH BIRDS

and is absent from the Balkan Peninsula south of Bulgaria, the north-west and west of France,
and the Iberian Peninsula. It probably also breeds in North-west Africa, and either this or
the next species has bred occasionally in the south of England. Its winter quarters lie in
Tropical Africa, and over twenty specimens have been obtained in the British Isles, fourteen
from the south and east coasts of England, ten from Fair Island and Lerwick, and one from
Ireland.

4. Nest and Eggs. The usual site for the nest is in the fork of a shrub or hedge, between
four and eight feet from the ground, occasionally much higher, and in a tree. It is neatly built
of down, grasses, wool, etc., interwoven with bark strips, fibre, and other materials, and lined
with grasses, roots, and hair, with sometimes a few feathers. The eggs are usually 4 or 5,
sometimes 6 in number, and have a dull rosy ground, sparingly spotted and streaked with
black. Average size of 142 eggs, -72x - 52 in. [18-3 x 13-4 mm.]. Incubation is performed by
both sexes, the male sitting in the afternoon (Naumann), and lasts 13 days. In Middle
Europe eggs can be found from the end of May to mid- June, and in Scandinavia during the
latter half of June. Probably only one brood is reared in the season as a rule. [F. c. R. J.]

MELODIOUS- WARBLER [Hypoldis polyglotta (Vieillot). Polyglot- warbler, melodious willow-
warbler. French, fauvette polyglotte ; German, Sdnger-Laubvogel ; Italian, cvmapino}.

1. Description. Resembles the icterine-warbler in size and coloration, but may be
distinguished from that species by the size and length of the bastard primary, which is more
than half an inch long, and extends for more than half its length beyond the primary coverts,
whereas in the icterine-warbler it is shorter than the primary coverts by a quarter of an
inch. The second primary generally intermediate in length between the sixth and seventh,
[w. p. P. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. There is reason to believe that this species has bred occasionally in the
south of England (Sussex, Surrey, etc.), but owing to the difficulty of distinguishing it from the
preceding species, the evidence is not wholly satisfactory. On the Continent its range is much
more restricted, and it is only known to breed in France (excepting only the north-eastern
departments), and locally on the west side of Italy, as well as in Spain and Portugal, except
north of the Cantabrian Mountains. It also nests in North-west Africa from Tunisia to Marocco
as far as the Rio de Oro. Its winter quarters lie in western Tropical Africa (Senegambia and
Upper Guinea), and it has been recorded from Belgium, Heligoland, and Austro-Hungary, as
well as four times at least from England and Ireland (Sussex two, Cornwall, and Co. Cork).
[F. c. R. J.]

4. Nest and Eggs. The nest is generally built in the fork of some bush, from three to five
feet from the ground, and is neatly and compactly built of dead grasses and vegetable down,
with a dead leaf or so woven in, and is lined with down and a few roots, hairs, or feathers.
The eggs are 4 or 5, rarely 6 in number, generally rather a deeper rose-red than those of
the icterine, dull in texture, and spotted and streaked with black. Average size of 100 eggs,
69x'51 in. [17'7xl3 - 2 mm.]. Details as to incubation seem to be lacking, but the period
probably differs little from that of the icterine. In Spain the eggs may be found from mid-May
onward as a rule, and apparently two broods are reared, as fresh eggs may be found about the
third week of June. [F. c. R. J.]

GREAT REED- WARBLER [Acroctphalus arundindceus (Limueus). French, rousserolle;
German, Drosselrohrsanger, grosser Rohrspatz ; Italian, cannareccione].

1. Description. Recognised by its very large size. Length 7| in. [190 mm.]. Sexes alike.
General colour of the upper surface rufous brown, becoming paler on the rump and upper tail-
coverts ; primaries, secondaries, and tail feathers blackish brown, margined on the outer web with



CLASSIFIED NOTES 493

olive-brown ; a narrow eyebrow of yellowish white from the lores to behind the eye ; chin and
throat pale yellowish white ; breast, sides of the body, thighs, under wing- coverts and axillaries
yellowish butt'; upper mandible blackish brown ; under mandible, legs, and feet horn-colour;
second primary equal to the third, which is the longest, [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. This species breeds on the Continent in suitable localities south of the
Baltic and the Gulf of Finland, and about lat. 57 in the Urals, but is scarce in Denmark.
Southward its range extends to the Mediterranean, and it is known to breed in North-west
Africa, but it is not known to nest in Corsica and Sardinia or in the south of the Balkan
Peninsula. In Asia it nests in Asia Minor, Palestine, and West Siberia. In winter it migrates
to Africa, where it has been met with as far south as Loango, the Transvaal, and Natal, passing
through Persia and S. Arabia on migration, and has been recorded about ten times from
England. In Eastern Asia it is replaced by allied forms. [F. c. R. j.]

BLYTH'S REED-WARBLER [Acrocephcdus dumettrum, Blyth].

1. Description. Distinguished from the great reed-warbler by its much smaller size.
Length 5 in. [127 mm.]. Sexes alike. General colour of the upper surface of the body dull
olive-brown ; wings and tail blackish brown, margined on the outer web with olive-green ; an
ill-defined whitish eyebrow ; throat whitish, gradually merging into the yellowish buff of the
chest and sides of the body ; middle of the belly and abdomen whitish buff; axillaries and
under wing-coverts yellowish buff ; third and fourth primaries equal and longest ; second
primary shorter than the fifth. After the autumn moult the whole of the under parts are
suffused with buff. [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. In Europe this species is only known to breed in Russia, north probably
to Archangel, west to St. Petersburg, and south to Novgorod, Tver, Moscow and Tula, and east
to Orenburg. In Asia it is widely distributed, and breeds in W. Siberia, Transcaspia, Turkestan,
Bokhara, the Altai range, and the Himalayas. Its normal winter quarters lie in India south to
Ceylon and Pegu, and seven specimens have been recorded from England and Scotland
(Yorks. one, Holy Island one, and five or six from Fair Island). [F. c. R. j.]

CETTI'S WARBLER [Ctitia cetti (Marmora). French, bouscarle; German, Cetti's Rohrsdnger ;
Italian, rusiynolo difiumi].

1. Description. Recognised by having only ten feathers in its tail. Sexes alike, excepting
that the female is slightly smaller. Length 5 in. [127 mm.]. General colour of the upper
surface of the body reddish brown, brightest on the rump ; a whitish eyebrow, extending
from the base of the bill to behind the eye ; wings and tail blackish brown, margined on the
outer web by reddish brown ; chin, throat, middle of breast, and abdomen white ; sides of the
head and sides of the chest and body reddish brown ; under tail-coverts reddish brown, fringed
with whitish, [w. p. p. and T. w.]

2. Distribution. Resident in the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Isles, South France,
Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy (except in the north), the Balkan Peninsula north to Dalmatia