■ The Yellow- Browed Warbler. 93 



coverts yellower ; wing-coverts, flights and tail- feathers brown, edged with olive- 

 green, the median and greater wing-coverts broadly tipped with greenish-yellow, 

 forming two distinct bands, the secondaries and several of the primaries tipped 

 with yellowish- white ; a greenish-yellow superciliary stripe which becomes whitish 

 behind the ear-coverts ; under-surface white, tinged with greenish- yellow, the 

 axillaries, under wing-coverts, and thighs yellowish ; bill dark brown, feet brown, 

 iris hazel. After the autumn moult the colouring is brighter and j'ellower. 

 Young birds are greener and have a less defined eye- stripe than adults. 



The home of this little bird is made in the pine-forests of N.E. Siberia, 

 where Mr. Seebohm found it very common, he describes its call-note as a plain- 

 tive weesf, whereas Gatke says: "This call has the sound of a somewhat long- 

 drawn, softly intoned 'hjiiph,' and somewhat approaches in character the call-note 

 of AntliHs pyatcmisr* However, it was reserved for IMr. Seebohm to be the first 

 discoverer of the nest of this interesting species on the 26th June, 1877: — "As 

 we were walking along a little bird started up near us, and began most per- 

 sistently to utter the well-known cry of the Yellow-browed Warbler. As it kept 

 flying around us from tree to tree, we naturally came to the conclusion that it 

 had a nest near. We searched for some time unsuccessfull}', and then retired to 

 a short distance, and sat down upon a tree- trunk to watch. The bird was very 

 uneasy, but continually came back to a birch tree, from which it frequently made 

 short flights towards the ground, as if it were anxious to return to its nest but 

 dare not whilst we were in sight. This went on for about half an hour, when 

 we came to the conclusion that the nest must be at the foot of the birch tree, 

 and commenced a second search. In less than five minutes I found the nest, 

 with six eggs. It was built in a slight tuft of grass, moss and bilberries, semi- 

 domed, exactly like the nest of our Willow Warblers. It was composed of dry 

 grass and moss, and lined with reindeer-hair. The eggs are pure white in 

 ground colour, spotted very thickly at the large end, in the form of an irregular 

 zone, with reddish brown, and more sparingly on the remainder of the surface ; 

 some of the spots are underlying and paler, but not grey, aud on one or two of 

 the eggs they are confluent. They measure ■6-incli in length and ■45-inch in 

 breadth. The markings are well defined, like those on the eggs of the Chiffchaff; 

 but the colour is decidedly more like that of the Willow Warblers." 



Gatke says: — "The conditions which favour the passage of this bird to 

 Heligoland are an east wind, particularly a light south-east, and warm sunny 

 weather. After its arrival it frequents principally the few tree-like willow shrubs 



* I should judge that Gatke's rendering of bird-notes was more likely to be accurate than Seebohm's, 

 and heeffe (or more probably hweeph] is likely to be a call-note, whereas lueest is certainly not. — A.G.B. 



