ORPHEAN WARBLER. 69 



of the Mediterranean as far as Turkey ; in winter it migrates 

 to Egypt and Nubia. 



There are but two authenticated records of its occurrence 

 in the British Islands, the first being in this county, where 

 one, out of two seen, was killed on 6th July 1848, and came 

 into the possession of the late Sir Wm. Milner, who stated 

 that " it was shot in a small plantation near Wetherby, 

 and was, unfortunately, very ill set up by the man who 

 obtained it ; it had the appearance of having been engaged 

 in incubation from the state of its plumage. Mr. Graham, 

 my bird-stuffer at York, having heard that a very uncommon 

 bird had been shot, went over to Wetherby and, fortunately, 

 obtained the specimen for my collection. It has the beak 

 black and very strong, eight lines in length, the upper mandible 

 very much grooved. The whole upper part of the plumage 

 dark ash-coloured brown. The outer feather of the tail 

 white, the rest of a brownish black. Chin dirty white ; throat 

 and belly brownish white ; under surface of the wings and 

 vent light brown. Legs very strong ; toes and claws black. 

 Total length 6 inches 3 lines." (Milner, Zool. 1849, P- 2588 ; 

 1851, pp. 3107, 3111. Yarrell's " British Birds," Vol. I. 

 p. 343 ; Dresser, Vol. II. p. 412.) 



This specimen, on the strength of which the species 

 was admitted to the British list, is now in the Milner collection 

 in the Leeds Museum. 



The nest and eggs of the Orphean Warbler are said to 

 have been taken at two localities in Yorkshire, viz. : Penny 

 Spring Wood, near Almondbury, in June 1856 (Varley MS., 

 9th November 1879), and Notton Wood, Wakefield, in June 

 1864 (Harting's Handbook, 2nd Ed., p. 356), but, as the 

 birds were not identified in either case, these records cannot 

 be accepted as reliable. 



