NON-INDIGENOUS BRITISH BIRDS. 6i 



Family TURDID.^. Genus Sylvia. 



Sub- family SYL VIINA-l, 



BARRED WARBLER. 



Sylvia xisoria {Bec/istei?i). 



(British : Very rare abnormal autumn migrant.) 



Single Brooded. Laying season, latter end of May and in 

 ] une. 



Breeding area : South-western PaL-earctic region. 

 The Barred Warbler breeds sparingly in South Sweden 

 and Denmark, more commonly in Germany east of the 

 valley of the Rhine, Northern Italy, Transylvania, 

 Bulgaria, Turkey, Southern Russia, Persia, and Tur- 

 kestan up to an elevation of from 6,000 to 10,000 feet. 



Breeding habits : The Barred Warbler is another 

 late migrant, not reaching its breeding grounds before 

 the very end of April or early in May. Nothing appears 

 to be known respecting its pairing habits, but the bird 

 probably mates annually. Its favourite resorts during 

 the nesting season are small plantations and ground 

 covered with scrub and thickets. Owing to its shy, 

 retiring disposition it is much liable to be overlooked. 

 The nest is generally placed in a thick bush a few feet 

 above the ground, but instances are on record where it 

 has been found almost on the ground itself, whilst, in 

 one instance only, it has been discovered at the summit 

 of a birch tree, twenty-five feet from the ground. It is 

 a somewhat bulky structure, and though net-like and 

 flimsy-looking, is rather more compactly made than is 

 usual in this class of birds. It is cup-shaped, and made 

 externally of dry stalks and roots, small withered plants, 

 and occasional scraps of thistledown or cocoons of 

 insects, and is lined with finer roots and horsehair. The 



