SYLVIIN/E. 



67 



THE RUFOUS WARBLER. 



Aedon galactodes (Temminck). 



The Rufous Warbler is a southern species, which has been ob- 

 tained in England, as a straggler, on three occasions. The first 

 example was shot by Mr. Swaysland near Brighton on September 

 1 6th 1854, and according to Mr. W. Borrer of Cowfold, who 

 recorded it, the bird was a male preparing to moult. On Sep- 

 tember 25th 1859, after the prevalence for a week of a strong southerly 

 wind, a very thin bird, which had lost its tail, was shot at the Start in 

 Devonshire by Mr. W. D. Llewellyn, who presented it to the British 

 Museum. A third was obtained in a turnip-field near Slapton, 

 Devon, on October 12th 1876, as recorded by Mr. H. Nicholls 

 (Zool. s.s. p. 5179). These occurrences, all in autumn, show that 

 the individuals in question were merely wind-driven waifs from the 

 south; nor is it likely that many others have escaped observation, 

 the bird being conspicuous by its plumage and habits. It may be 

 briefly described as a pale-coloured Nightingale, witli white tips and 

 black spots on a broad fan-shaped tail. 



The Rufous Warbler does not appear to visit France, or even the 

 northern portions of the Peninsula ; but in Southern Portugal and 



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