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Golfe du Lion. In N. Italy it is very scarce, but breeds in Liguria, 

 Tuscany and Campagna in suitable spots, and is apparently only of 

 accidental occurrence in the S. It is recorded from Mallorca, plentiful 

 in the low ground in Corsica and in Sardinia, and, locally common in 

 Sicily. In the Balkan peninsula it is found in Dalmatia, Herzegowina, 

 Montenegro, and in small numbers in the valley of the lower Danube, 

 while it is also known to be resident in Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. 

 Here it is to be met with not only in the plains, but also by the brush 

 grown watercourses up to 3500 ft. Probably it is also this form which 

 occurs in S. Russia, the Crimea and the Caucasus ; and it is certainly 

 resident in Crete, Cyprus, Asia Minor, and Palestine. It breeds in 

 Tunisia and Algeria north of the Atlas, and also in Marocco. 



The usual site for the nest is among the trailing branches of ^^*'*- 

 bramble thickets, often interspersed with Smilax, in swampy woods or 

 overhanging watercourses and among tamarisks near the banks of rivers- 

 In the latter site the nest may be found without difficulty, and is usually 

 not far from the ground, but among brambles it is often placed over 

 the water and is curiously inconspicuous, and difficult to find. In the 

 open swamps and marshes some birds nest among the coarse vegetation 5 

 suspending the nest like a Reed Warbler's, from the stems of adjacent 

 marsh plants such as Willow Herb. The nest is very neatly made and 

 recalls those of the Tree Warblers, being somewhat conical in shape 

 and very deep. It is built of dead grasses, leaves, and bits of sedge^ 

 mixed with plant down and roots, harmonizing well in colour with dead 

 brambles, and the deep and neatly hollowed cup is lined with fine 

 grasses mixed with down, and horsehair or feathers in varying quantities. 

 Externally it has rather an untidy look, and might easily pass for an 

 accumulation of flood wrack. Rough dimensions are: depth 41 — 6 in., 

 diameter of cup, 2 — 2h in, depth of cup, 2 — 21 in. Although the bird 

 is difficult to observe on account of its skulking habits, its presence is 

 easily detected by the extraordinarily loud, ringing notes of its brief song. 



Almost always 4 or 5 in number. In most collections eggs may Eggs. 

 be seen varying in colour from pale brick red and pink with a dull 

 purplish tinge, to deep brick red and rich mahogany brown. Unfortun- 

 ately the colour is fugitive, and the paler eggs are often merely faded 

 specimens. Many eggs show more or less distinct zones of darker specks 

 rund the big end. The amount of gloss varies, but is not as a rule great. 



In S. Spain and Corsica the last week in April and the beginning Breeding 

 of May are the best times for the eggs of the first brood, while those ^^^'°^- 

 of the second are found at the end of May and early in June. In Asia 

 Minor Kriiper found the first clutches in the latter part of April and 

 two broods are also reared there. 



