92 Thb; Yellow-Browed Warhler. 



Family— TURDW.F. Subfamily— S YL I IIN^. 



The Yellow-Browed Warbler. 



Pkylloscopus supcniliosHS, G^MEL. 



MR. Howard Saunders onl}? mentions three examples of this pretty little 

 species as having been obtained in Great Britain: but, in the "Zoologist" 

 for December, 1894, Mr. J. E. Harting says: — "On October 8th, Mr. 

 Swailes, an observant nurseryman, at Beverley, hearing the note of a small 

 warbler which was unfamiliar to him, shot the bird, and sent it for identification 

 to Mr. F. Boyes, who pronounced it to be Phylloscopus superciliosiis, and on com- 

 municating this information, Mr. Swailes found and shot two others in the same 

 locality. Mr. Boyes having reported this interesting occurrence in ' The Field ' 

 of October 27th, Mr. J. H. Gurney, in the succeeding issue (Nov. 3rd) announced 

 that on Oct. ist one of these little birds was shot on the coast of Norfolk by a 

 labouring man, who fired at it merely for the purpose of unloading his gun ! As 

 ten instances of the occurrence of this species in the British Islands have now 

 been made known, its claim to be regarded as a British bird, which for a quarter 

 of a century remained doubtful, may now be said to be established."* 



To Aviculturists Mr. Swailes is well-known as a successful breeder of British 

 birds in out-door aviaries. 



Touching the distribution of Phylloscopus supcrciliosits, Seebohm writes: — "The 

 breeding-range of the Yellow-browed Warbler is supposed to be confined to the 

 pine-forests of North-eastern Siberia, from the valley of the Yenesay eastwards 

 to the Pacific, and from the mountains of Lake Baikal northwards to the Arctic 

 circle. It passes through Mongolia and North China on migration and winters 

 in South China, Assam, Burma, and North-east India. Like some other Siberian 

 birds which winter in South-east Asia, a few examples appear more or less 

 regularly to take the wrong turning at Yeniseisk, and, instead of accompanying 

 the main body of the migratory species, which follow the course of the Angora 

 through Lake Baikal into the valley of the Amoor, join the smaller stream of 

 migration, which flows westwards into Persia and Europe." 



In the spring the adult bird above is olive-green, the rump and upper tail- 



• One of the siieciniens recorded by IMr. Swailes has, since, been presented by him to the Natural 

 History Museum. 



