1. SYLVIA. 29 



the upper parts brown, and the feathers of the chin, throat, and 

 breast white, with concealed black bases ; the rest of the under- 

 parts are pale brown. 



The Palestine Warbler appears to be confined to Cj-prus and 

 Palestine. It is not known that it is a migratorj- bird. 



a. (S ad. sk. Cyprus, May 1. Lord Lilford [P.]. 



17. Sylvia blanfordi. (Plate II.) 



Sylvia melanocephala (Gmel), anucl Blanford, Geol. & Zool. Alms. 



p. 379(1870). 

 Sylvia blautbrdi, Seebohm, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 979. 



In the adidt male in spring plumage the general colour of the 

 upper parts is dark grey, more or less suffused with brown ; head, 

 nape, and ear-coverts brownish black ; innermost secondaries brown, 

 with pale edges ; quills brown ; tail very dark brown, approaching 

 black, outside feathers probably tipped with white. TJnderparts 

 nearly white, slightly suffused with brown on the sides of the 

 breast, flanks, axillaries, and under tail-coverts; axillaries and 

 under wing-coverts greyish white, the latter with darker centres ; 

 inner margin of quills pale brown. Bill of typical shape, dark brown, 

 the under mandible slightly paler at the base ; rictal bristles long, 

 but few and very slender. Wing with the third, fourth, and fifth 

 primaries nearly equal ; second primary about equal to the eighth 

 or ninth ; bastard primary somewhat longer than usual, extending 

 0-3 inch beyond the primary-coverts. Tail slightly longer than the 

 wing, outside feathers 0-3 inch shorter than the longest. Legs, feet, 

 and claws dark bluish grey. Length of wing 2-55 inches, tail 2-56, 

 culmen 0-5, tarsus 0-85. 



The female of this bird is unknown, as is also the plumage of the 

 birds of the year, or of both sexes after the autumn moult. 



Elanford"s Warbler has hitherto only been known from a siufle 

 example obtained in Abyssinia. Xothing is known of its migrations. 

 a. cJ ad. sk. Rairo, Abyssinia, Aug. W. T. Blanford, Esq. [C.]. 



18. Sylvia melanocephala. 



Motacilla melanocephala, Gmel. Si/st. Nat. i. p. 970 (1788). 



Sylvia melanocephala {Gmel.), Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 500 (1790)- 

 Temm. Man. d'Orn. i. p. 203 (1820); Meijcr, Taschenb.Zus u 

 Ber. p. 90 (1822); Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. &;■ N. Amer. p. 14 

 (1838) ; Crcspnn, Orn. Gard. p. 129 (1840) ; Kei/s. u. Bias. Wirh. 

 Eur. p. 187 (1840); Nordm. Demid. J'oi/. Buss, me'rid. iii. p 1.50 

 (1840) ; Werner, Atlas, Lisectic. pi. 40 (1842) ; Grai/, Gen B i 

 p. 174 (1848) ; Linderm. Focf. Griechenl. p. 100 (18(30) ; Dubois 

 Ois. Eur. pi. 65 (18G2) ; Gray, Iland-l. B. i. p. 212. no 3001 

 ("1869) ; Dresser, B. Eur. pt. xxxiii. (1874); Irby, B. Gibr. p. 85 

 (1875). 



Sylvia ruscicola, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xi. p. 186 (1817); id, 

 Faune Frang. i. p. 203 (1820) ; Roux, Orn. Prov. p. 329 (1825). 



