WOOD-WREN. 427 
Central and Southern Russia, but does not appear to have been found east 
of Kazan. Bogdanow records it from the latter locality, and also obtained 
an example in the Terek valley in autumn. Ménétriés also records it 
from Lenkoran. Sabanieff’s remarks on its occurrence in the Ural, 
quoted by Dresser, appear to refer to the Icterine Warbler. It breeds in 
Transylvania and in Turkey; but in Greece, Asia Minor, and Palestine 
it is only known as passing through on migration. To the rest of Europe 
it is a regular summer visitor. It winters in North Africa, having been 
found to the west as far south as the Gold Coast, and to the east as far 
south as Abyssinia. A few appear to remain in Algeria to breed. 
Either the Wood-Wren, or its favourite food, appears to avoid the cool 
damp summer of countries which come under the influence of the Gulf 
Stream. It is difficult otherwise to harmonize its absence in Norway and 
the north of Scotland, and its extreme rarity in Ireland, with its abundance 
in the Baltic provinces and its occurrence in the warm dry summers of 
Archangel. Its late arrival in this country also shows how careful it is to 
avoid the storms of spring. It is possible that the true reason of this 
peculiarity in the distribution of the Wood-Wren is its objection to cross 
the sea. In spite of its long and powerful wings, it apparently prefers to 
migrate over the land as much as possible. In spite of its abundance in 
the forests of Brunswick and Pomerania, where it seemed to me to be the 
commonest of the three Willow-Warblers, it is comparatively rare on the 
island of Heligoland. Whilst thousands of Willow-Wrens and Chiffchaffs 
are seen on this isolated rock both in spring and autumn, Gaetke writes of 
the Wood-Wren that “a solitary individual occurs rarely during the warm 
days of May and August. It is seldom seen amongst the few shrubs and 
trees which ornament the gardens of Heligoland, but almost always only 
on the rocky cliffs which surround the island. This is somewhat remark- 
able; for such exclusively forest birds as Woodpeckers and Jays avail 
themselves of the brushwood of the gardens, but the Wood-Wren does 
not, for some reason or other preferring the naked cliffs.” 
This bird arrives at its breeding-grounds in this country at least a fort- 
night later than its congeners. Its charming song is rarely heard in the 
woods and copses of Yorkshire until late in April. Then, when the trees 
are just bursting into leaf and the woods are gay with anemones and blue- 
bells and other wild flowers, the Wood-Wren appears in great numbers, 
On their first arrival only the long-drawn-out plaintive call-note is heard ; 
but in a few days they are in full song. On a sunshiny early morning the 
woods seem to be alive with them. They have just completed their spring 
moult ; and, having waited for fine weather to cross the Mediterranean and 
the British Channel, they arrive in our woods in marvellously perfect plu- 
mage. In the early morning sun they look almost as delicate a yellowish 
green as the half-grown leaves amongst which they disport themselves, 
