310 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Sylvia. 



as well as on the underparts. This plumage is completely 

 moulted iu the first autumn before migration ; so that young 

 in first winter plumage diff'er very slightly from adults. Adult 

 birds have 07ily one complete moult in the year^ in autumn,, 

 before migration. The spring plumage is obtained by casting 

 the ends of the feathers. There is no complete moult in the 

 springy only such feathers being renewed as have been acci- 

 dentally injured. So far as I have been able to ascertain, 

 these peculiarities are always in this group correlated with 

 a plain tarsus. This family will contain the genera Turclvs, 

 Saxicola, Ruiicilla, a considerable portion of the Muscicapidse^ 

 and probably several American genera. 



The family which I propose to call the Sylviidse is charac- 

 terized as follows : — 



The young in first plumage are unspotted on the upper 

 parts (except in those cases where the adult birds are so also), 

 and only in rare instances are traces of spots to be found on 

 the breast. The adult birds moult tivice in the year, in spring 

 and autumn, both moults being complete. Birds in first 

 plumage, having an opportunity of moulting iu spring, do 

 not require to moult in the first autumn, and only renew a 

 few feathers then ; consequently there is frequently a differ- 

 ence, principally in the colour of the underparts, between the 

 the young and the adult in winter plumage. This family 

 will contain the genera Sylvia, Acrocephalus, part of the 

 Muscicapidse, and probably the greater portion of Mr. Sharpens 

 Timeliidfe. So far as I have been able to ascertain, the cha- 

 racters I have mentioned as belonging to this family are 

 always associated with a scutellatcd tarsus. 



Difficult as is the assignment of its proper position in the 

 classification of birds, the synonymy of many of the species 

 of the genus Sylvia presents still greater difficulties. 



The Barred Warbler stands undisputed as Sylvia nisoria 

 (Bechst.), Naturg. Deutschl. iv. p. 530 (1795). 



The synonymy of the Orphean Warbler is not perfectly 

 clear. " La Fauvettc " of Brisson, Buffon, and D^Aubenton 

 is obviously the female Orphean Warbler. The male bird 

 appears to have been unknown to Brisson ; but Buffon treats 



