Notes from Corsica. 33 



the male sang night and day to keep her awake, until the 

 young were fledged." 



41. Whitethroat. Sylvia cinerea. 



Scarce^ arriving about 20th April. A few seen after the 

 middle of May in the high mountains. 



42. Lesser Whitethroat. Sylvia curruca. 



Fairly common and resident. Found a nest with four 

 eggs quite fresh on the 19th April. 



43. Subalpine Warbler. Sylvia subalpina. 

 Plentiful, arriving about the middle of April. The first 



nest was taken on the 6th May. This little Warbler spends 

 nearly all its time in the thick scrub, sometimes mounting 

 liigh into the air and uttering a short but pretty song, then 

 diving back into the dense bush, its whereabouts being only 

 discoverable by a short chattering note. The nest is often 

 frail, about 1 \ inch deep, and 2\ inches in diameter. It is com- 

 posed of dry stalks, often a good many dead thistle-leaves, 

 and lined with fine dry grass, sometimes with long horsehairs. 

 The eggs four, of a pale yellowish or greenish white, are 

 speckled all over, but especially at the larger end, with light 

 brown and slate-blue. 



44. Spectacled Warbler. Sylvia conspicillata. 



Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing and shooting- 

 all small Warblers, this bird escaped me during my first year. 

 It was not until the 13th May, 1884, whilst hunting up 

 some thick scrub high up on a hill-side, that I found a nest 

 like that of the Subalpine Warbler ; but as the eggs seemed 

 larger, I snared the female. The nest was composed of the 

 same materials as that of the Subalpine, and almost the 

 same size. The eggs were similar, but with more bluish 

 markings. I noticed several other examples of this species 

 which were every now and then mounting in the air to sing, 

 often perching on the top of a small tree or shrub. 



45. Sardinian Warbler. Sylvia melanocephala. 

 Fairly common and resident. This bird seems to prefer a 



bush in a well-sheltered position for its nest, often close to a 



SER. V. — VOL. III. D 



