AVES. 
193 
Genus 29.—SYLVIA.— Latham. 
Generic Character. —Bill straight, slender, subulate, deeper 
than broad at the base; upper mandible frequently notched, the 
under one straight; nostrils lateral, ovoid, situated at the base 
of the bill, partly covered by a membrane; tarsus somewhat 
longer than the middle toe; first quill very short, awanting in 
some species, second and third nearly of the same length; wings 
short, coverts and scapulars abbreviated. 
Section 1.— Aquatic Warblers. —Vertex of the head de¬ 
pressed ; wings short, considerably rounded; tail long, graduat¬ 
ed, frequently conical. Song of many of the species with a 
great variety of notes. 
Sylvia phragmitis. — The Sedge Warbler. 
Plate XLIV. fig. 4. 
Crown, back, and wing-coverts, deep yellowish-brown, spot¬ 
ted with liver-brown; rump and upper tail-coverts paler, under 
parts cream yellow ; a broad pale yellow patch above the eyes ; 
chin and throat white; tail brownish-cinereous, somewhat round¬ 
ed ; legs and feet blackish-brown. Four inches long. Inhabits 
Europe. 
Section 2. — Sylvian Warblers. — Tail square, or slightly 
forked at the end. 
Sylvia luscinia. — The Nightingale. 
Plate XLIV. fig. 5. 
Upper parts deep yellowish-brown; rump and tail pale 
orange-brown; throat and middle of the abdomen grayish-white; 
sides of the neck, breast, and hypochondria, gray; legs and feet 
yellowish-brown. Six inches long. Inhabits Europe. 
Sylvia rubecula. — The Redbreast. 
Plate XLIV. fig. 7. 
Head and upper parts of the body dusky green; forehead, 
cheeks, throat, and breast, reddish-orange, darkest on the pec¬ 
tus, and margined with slaty-gray; abdomen white; middle 
wing-coverts tipped with pale orange; quills grayish-green; 
