40 A HANDBOOK OF EUROPEAN BIRDS. 
breast, flanks and under tl ae pale rufous-brown ; bill 
brown, yellow at base beneath} /egs light brown, feet darker ; 
irides brown. Length 8 inches; culmen 0°8 ; wing 3°6 to 3°8 ; 
tail 3°25 ; tarsus 1°2. 
Young: Redder above and more fawn-coloured beneath. 
Distribution: Breeds in Central and Southern Europe, 
wintering in South Africa. 
Habitat: Marshy localities ; reed-beds. 
AQUATIC WARBLER. “ 
Acrocephalus aquaticus (Gme/). 
Adult: Above pale tawny-brown; eye-stripe broad and 
distinct, whitish, extending far back; d¢stinct light stripe from 
base of bill through centre of crown to nape, bordered on either 
side by one of dark brown; lores and feathers behind eye 
russet-brown ; feathers of upper parts ashy-brown with dark 
brown centres (with the exception of quill-feathers, which are 
uniform brown); beneath whitish, with a buff tinge; chest 
and flanks slightly striated with brown ; bill dark brown, yel- 
lowish at base beneath, somewhat slender. Legs light yellowish- 
brown ; irides dark brown. Length 4°5 inches ; culmen 0°4; 
wing 2°4; tail 1°95; tarsus o°8. 
Young: Above, washed with warm pale rufous, which also 
margins the quills and tail-feathers; beneath yellowish-buff, 
shading into white on chin and centre of abdomen ; scarcely 
any trace of striations on under parts. 
Distribution: Breeds in Central and Southern Europe 
from the Atlantic to the Urals, probably wintering in Southern 
Africa. 
Habitat : Vegetation in marshy localities. 
SEDGE ee 
Acrocephalus phragmitis (Lechs?). 
Adult (Summer): Above olive-brown, yellowish-rufous 
on rump; four longitudinal, dark-brown stripes on head ; well- 
defined eye-stripe whitish, broader towards nape; centres of 
upper back-feathers shaded with dark-brown ; wings and tail 
