276 A HANDBOOK OF EUROPEAN BIRDS. 
spots on the under parts are®€ar-shaped. It may at once be 
recognised from iV. pheopus by its not having a dark crown, as 
well as by the colour of the axillaries and under wing-coverts, 
which are pure white” (Shelley). Length 14 inches ; culmen 
2°75; wing 9 to 9-3; tarsus 2°3. Female larger than the male, 
the bill especially being much longer and the breast more 
thickly spotted. 
Distribution : Resident in the Mediterranean region. 
Habitat: Probably very similar to that of VV. arguata. 
