THE HEDGE ACCENTOR loi 



within recent times. South of latitude 70° in the 

 extreme west, and latitude 60° in the far east, the 

 Hedge Accentor is commonly dispersed throughout 

 Europe (although said to be very rare in Eastern 

 Prussia), but in the south it is principally a winter 

 migrant and in the north a summer one. A few, 

 however, retire to the mountains to breed in Spain, 

 Italy, Asia Minor, Palestine, and the Caucasian 

 countries. South of the Mediterranean it is only 

 known as an abnormal migrant. 



As previously stated, in some parts of its range 

 the Hedge Accentor is a bird of regular passage. 

 It is one of the most familiar birds at Heligoland, 

 so Gatke tells us, and its migrations are a well- 

 known feature of the ornithological life of the island. 

 Although one of the most solitary of birds, evincing 

 litde sociability with its kind, it appears to migrate 

 in companies, even in spring. It would perhaps 

 be more difficult to say where the Hedge Sparrow 

 is not found, than where it is. It is almost as 

 familiar as the Robin, and equally as ubiquitous, 

 and in its choice of a haunt manifests a decided 

 partiality for cultivated districts and the dwellings 

 of man. Dressed in sober-coloured plumage, un 

 assuming and somewhat retiring in disposition, it 

 attracts little attention, and is as often as not over- 

 looked altogether. It is essentially a ground bird 

 and one that frequents the lower vegetation, rarely 

 visiting the higher branches, except occasionally to 



