S8 AQUATIC WARBLER. 



Streak down the middle of the crown in the Aquatic Warbler is 

 an unfailing mark of distinction between this species and the 

 Sedge-Warbler. 



The Aquatic Warbler seldom visits Heligoland ; though it breeds 

 sparingly in the southern part of Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein, and 

 on the southern side of the Baltic. In Holland and Belgium it is 

 of rare occurrence ; but in France it is found annually in the 

 departments of Somme and Nord. In the Brenne and beyond the 

 Loire it arrives about the third week in April to breed ; while further 

 south, in the Camargue and similar marshy districts, it is not 

 uncommon. Eastward, it is fairly distributed throughout Germany, 

 becoming abundant in Silesia as well as in some parts of Poland, 

 and only less so in Austria-Hungary. It breeds in many parts of 

 Italy, Sicily and Sardinia ; but in the Spanish Peninsula I have 

 obtained it only in September. In North Africa it is probably 

 resident. In the eastern portion of the basin of the Mediterranean 

 it appears to be merely a migrant or a winter-visitor ; and the 

 marshes of the Southern Ural form its boundary in that direction. 



According to Naumann, the nest is placed in more open localities 

 than that of the Sedge- Warbler, and generally about a foot from the 

 ground, in a bunch of sedge, or amongst dwarf willow-growth, but 

 never among reeds overhanging the water. It is similar to that of 

 the Sedge-'\\'arbler, and the eggs, 4-5 in number, are slightly less 

 yellow in their ground-colour than those of that bird : measurements 

 ■65 by "51 in. Breeding commences in the middle of May. In its 

 habits this species is remarkably shy, concealing itself on the 

 least alarm and running like a mouse along a branch or on the 

 ground. Its food consists of insects. The song, uttered from the 

 end of April to July, is shorter and less varied than that of the 

 Sedge-Warbler. 



In the adult the forehead is rufous-buff; the lores and ear-coverts 

 are pale brown, surmounted by a buff stripe over and behind each 

 eye ; above this, on each side, is a broad blackish stripe, followed 

 by a conspicuous buff streak along the middle of the crown ; nape 

 and back tawny-brown striped with black ; rump rufous-brown, 

 with black streaks ; tail-feathers brown, darker along the shafts ; 

 under parts yellowish-buff, darker on the flanks, which, with the neck 

 and throat, are more or less striated ; bill brown above, yellowish 

 below ; legs and feet yellowish-brown. In the autumn the buff tint 

 becomes more intense. Length 4-9 in. ; wing to the tip of the 3rd 

 and longest primary 2-4 in., the bastard quill being very small. 



