THE WARBLERS. 187 



Note. — The Lesser Whitethroat is, as its name implies, a smaller bird 

 than the Common Whitethroat, though not to any remarkable extent, for 

 the wing in the smaller species measures 2*45 to 2*65 inches, while in 

 S. sylvia it measures 2-5 to 2*9, so that large examples of the former 

 exceed in length of wing small examples of the latter. The Lesser White- 

 throat belongs to the group of Warblers, which have the first, or bastard- 

 primary, longer than the primary-coverts, thus differing from the ordinary 

 Whitethroat and Garden Warbler, but agreeing in this respect with the 

 Blackcap and Orphean Warbler. The wing, however, is less than three 

 inches in length, and the grey head likewise distinguishes the Lesser White- 

 throat from the above-mentioned species. 



Range in Great Britain. — Not so universally distributed as the 

 Whitethroat, though it is found over the southern and midland 

 counties of England, becoming gradually rarer towards the 

 north and west. In Durham, Northumberland, and Cumber- 

 land it is scarce, and according to notes published by Mr. 

 Howard Saunders in his " Manual " from the pen of Mr. Robert 

 Service, it is " seldom met with in Kirkcudbrightshire, although 

 better known in Dumfriesshire and down by the borders, where 

 its nest has been twice obtained ; it is said to breed sparingly 

 and locally as far as Stirlingshire ; but in the northern counties, 

 and in the outlying islands, the evidence tends to show that 

 it is at most a rare straggler." One specimen has been recorded 

 as shot in Aberdeenshire, on the 4th of November, a somewhat 

 extraordinary date, but confirmed by the capture of a specimen 

 near Brighton in the same month, while the late Dr. Saxby saw 

 a specimen in Unst in September. Only a single occurrence 

 in Ireland is known. 



Range outside the British Islands' — The present species is known 

 to breed throughout the greater part of Europe, extending 

 northward beyond the Arctic Circle, but not to the limit of 

 forest-growth. It is also found as far east as Asia Minor and 

 Palestine, but to the eastward its place is taken by Sylvia 

 ajjinis from the Lower Volga and Northern Persia to Siberia 

 and even North-eastern China. The winter home of the 

 Lesser Whitethroat is in Africa, but it does not go so far south 

 as S. sylvia ; it visits North-eastern and Northern Africa, and 

 Mr. Howard Saunders states that it likewise winters sparingly in 

 South-eastern Spain. 



Habiti. — These differ somewhat from those of the Common 



