l64 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



pale grey edges. The crown and nape are black. The under 

 parts are a paler grey, whitest on the chin and belly, brownest 

 on the flanks. The bill is dark brown, the legs lead-coloured, 

 and the irides hazel. The black on the head is replaced by 

 rusty brown in the female ; she is more olive-brown above and 

 buffer below. After the autumn moult the upper parts are 

 olive-buff, the chin is less white, and the belly distinctly 

 suffused with yellow. The young resemble the female. Length, 

 5 75 ins. Wing, 275 ins. Tarsus, '85 in. 



Sardinian Warbler. Syhna melanocephala (Gmelin). 



In April, i860, W. D' Urban watched a small warbler with a 

 jet black head and pure white under parts, probably this species, 

 in his garden at Exmouth, and in June, 1907, a Sardinian 

 Warbler was killed at Hastings and added to the British list. 

 The summer range of this distinctive bird extends along the 

 Mediterranean to the south of France, Spain and Portugal, 

 and the bird may have wandered on migration on other 

 occasions and have been mistaken for a Blackcap. Length, 

 47 ins. Wing, 2' 15 ins. Tarsus, -82 in. 



Riippell's Warbler. Sylvia ruppelli Temm. 



The occasional wandering to Britain of migratory birds that 

 breed in northern or western Europe is not surprising, but the 

 appearance of a species like Riippell's Warbler, whose summer 

 haunts are around Greece and Asia Minor and which winters 

 in north-east Africa, makes one wonder if accidental or inten- 

 tional human agency is responsible. Two birds, both males, were 

 obtained in May, 1914, near Hastings, and submitted in the flesh 

 to competent ornithologists, and on the strength of this single 

 occurrence the bird is included as British. The male is a hand- 

 some grey bird v/ith a black crown and throat, bordered by a 



