sylviina:. 



71 



THE WOOD-WREN. 

 Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Bechstein). 



The Wood- Wren, the largest of the three members of the genus 

 which habitually visit us, is the latest to arrive, seldom appearing 

 even in the south of England before the middle of April ; while in 

 September it departs for the winter. Owing to its marked prefer- 

 ence for woods — especially of beech and of oak — it is more local 

 in its distribution than the two preceding species ; for example, 

 although very common in some of the eastern parts of Cornwall, it 

 is of rare occurrence in the west of that county. It is to be found 

 in suitable localities throughout England, and, locally, in Wales (abun- 

 dantly in Merioneth) ; while in St. Leonard's and Tilgate Forests 

 in Sussex, the New Forest, Sherwood Forest, and the woodlands of 

 Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland 

 it may be called numerous. In Scotland it is fairly distributed, 

 and has apparently spread northward of late years, being recorded 

 by Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley as breeding in the south-east 

 of Sutherlandshire, and as having been identified at Dunbeath in 

 Caithness, and in West Ross. The late Mr. A. C. Chapman 

 recognized it on North Uist, in the Outer Hebrides. In Ireland its 

 eggs have been found in Galway, while the bird has frequently been 

 observed in Wicklow, and occasionally in some other counties. 



The Wood-Wren has only once been proved to visit Norway, but it 

 is found in Sweden as far north as Upsala ; while it is very common 



