66 



British Birds. 



Savi's Warbler. 



Warblers. Savi's Warbler, however, is of 

 a much darker brown colour than anv of 

 the last-named birds, and may be dis- 

 tinguished by the vinous brown colour 

 of the sides of the body. It is an 

 inhabitant of the marsh_y districts of 

 central and southern Europe, as far east 

 as central Asia, but is only found in 

 certain favourite haunts, and is every- 

 where very local. The song is described 

 as a monotonous whirr, and is heard all 

 day from the reed-beds frequented b)- the 

 species, which may be seen climbing up 

 the reeds in pursuit of its insect-food. 



The nest is made of dead rushes and ilags, with a little moss, but with no lining 

 beyond a few twisted reeds : it is a well-made and rather deep cup, and is 

 placed in a tuft of spiky grass or on a platform of broken reeds. The eggs 

 are from four to six in number, the ground-colour being brownish-white, with 

 numerous spots of light brown and violet-grey, generally collecting round the 

 larger end of the egg. 



This family of birds is closely allied to the preceding 

 one, but the front aspect of the tarsus is never divided 

 by scales or cross-lines, being smooth throughout. All 

 the Thrushes have spotted young ones, and they only 

 moult once in the year, in the autumn, but do not have a second moult in 

 the spring like the Warblers. 



This species, named in honour ot Gilbert White of 

 Selborne, is an inhabitant of Eastern Siberia and win- 

 ters in China and the Philippine Islands. On its 

 migration it not unfrequenth" wanders into Europe, and 

 has occurred in most of the countries on the Continent, and has been met 

 with many times in Heligoland, whilst at least a dozen British captures 

 have been recorded. It is an unmistakable species, having the upper surface 

 profusely spangled with golden-buff spots, and black crescent-shaped spots on 

 the fore-neck, breast and sides of the body ; on the under side of the wing 

 there is a very conspicuous patch of white, forming a pale lining across the 

 base of the quills. 



In habits, White's Thrush appears to be a shy and skulking species, feeding 

 on the ground in damp places and among dead leaves under trees, but little has 

 been recorded of its ways, and it is doubtful whether the nest and eggs are 

 really authentically known. 



THE THRUSHES. 



Family 



TURDID^^. 



WHITE'S 



THRUSH. 



(Oreocichla varia.) 



