176 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Blyth's Reed-Warbler. Acrocephahts diunatorum Blyth. 



The coloration of this Asiatic Reed-Warbler so closely 

 resembles that of the Reed- and Marsh-Warbler which nest 

 in Britain that it cannot be distinguished in the field ; it has, 

 however, a structural character, a shorter second primary. It 

 breeds in a wide area in central Asia and in part of Russia, 

 and winters in India. It was first noticed in 1910 on Fair 

 Island, and in the autumn of 1912 it is probable that a number 

 wandered westward, as birds were obtained at Fair Island, in 

 Northumberland and Yorkshire. Length, 5-5 ins. Wing, 

 2"4 ins. Tarsus, '9 in. 



Marsh- War bier. Acrocephahts palustris (Bech.). 



The Marsh-Warbler (Plate 72) breeds in most parts of 

 Europe south of Denmark, and winters in Africa, even at the 

 Cape. As a wanderer on migration it has reached the Shetlands 

 and St. Kilda, but as a summer resident it is very local and 

 only nests regularly in a few southern counties, especially 

 Somerset, Gloucester and Oxford. It has once nested so far 

 north as Cheshire. 



So closely does the Marsh- resemble the Reed- Warbler that 

 a keen eye for colour is necessary before we can separate 

 dried skins of the two species, and when the bird is moving in 

 the herbage the angle at which the light strikes its plumage 

 may easily deceive the observer. It is slightly paler and more 

 olive than the Reed, yellower beneath, and its rump is less 

 rufous. Saunders says that its legs are " pale brownish flesh 

 colour." It haunts marshes, osier beds, and wet ditches, and 

 is a late migrant, seldom appearing before early June ; it is 

 thought to leave in August. Undoubtedly its best character is 

 its song, which Mr. Farren describes as like that of the 



