BLYTH'S REED-WARBLER AT FAIR ISLE 71 



In colour it more resembles the Marsh-Warbler (A. 

 palustris) than the Reed-Warbler (A. streperus\ but is a little 

 duller in colour and usually smaller in size, though the 

 smallest Marsh- Warbler and the largest dumetorum over- 

 lap. The wing formula of Blyth's bird differs from both 

 the British species just mentioned in having the second 

 primary shorter than the fifth. 



ON THE OCCURRENCE OF TEMMINCK'S 

 GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER IN ORKNEY. 



By WM. EAGLE CLARKE. 



I RECEIVED a specimen of this interesting bird from the 

 Pentland Skerries, where it was captured on 26th October 

 1910. The bird rose, on being disturbed, and darted into 

 an old rabbit's burrow, from which it was taken and sent to 

 me in the flesh for identification, and proved to be Locustella 

 lanceolata of Temminck. It is a new bird to Scotland, and 

 has only twice previously been recorded for Western 

 Europe, namely at North Cotes in Lincolnshire on 1 8th 

 November 1909; and at Heligoland on 1 3th October 

 1909. I am now convinced, however, that a bird I shot at 

 Fair Isle on 9th September 1908 is a young bird of this 

 species a view that is also shared by my friend Dr. C. B. 

 Ticehurst, who has seen the specimen and compared it with 

 other members of the genus. 



This species is a summer visitor to the whole of Siberia 

 and the northern Isles of Japan, but is of very rare occur- 

 rence in European Russia. Its winter quarters are in 

 Burmah, India, South China, and Borneo. This eastern bird 

 resembles our Grasshopper- Warbler, but, as a rule, it is a 

 little smaller, and has the dark spots on the centre of the 

 feathers of the upper plumage more clearly defined. The 

 Orkney specimen, which is a bird of the year, has the under 

 parts greyish yellow with dark brown streaks on the centre 

 of the feathers of the throat and breast. 



