THE HEDGE ACCENTOR 

 Accentor modularis 



Although the Hedge Accentor, or Hedge 

 Sparrow, as it is otherwise called, is not a very 

 remarkable songster, it is certainly a favourite one, 

 and we cannot bring ourselves to exclude it from 

 tlie present work. Although future research may 

 yet succeed in showing that the taxonomic position 

 here assigned to this species will have to be changed, 

 there can be no doubt that its affinities (if we accept 

 the test of a spotted nestling) are more with the 

 Thrushes than with the Warblers, and with them 

 we have accordingly provisionally associated it. 

 The Hedge Accentor, with the sole exception of 

 a few of the most barren of the Hebrides, and the 

 Orkneys and Shetlands, may be said to be generally 

 distributed throua^hout the British Islands, more or 

 less resident in every county, but becoming least 

 abundant in the wilder and uncultivated districts. 

 It is another of those species which have very 

 perceptibly increased their area of distribution 



