292 



central plateau. In France it is said by Bureau to be found everywhere 

 except in the N. E., and is only absent from the following departements, 

 Somme, Pas-de-Calais, Nord, Aisnes, Ardennes, outer Meuse, Meurthe 

 et Moselle, Vosges, Haut SaOne and Doubs. In Italy it is somewhat 

 irregularly distributed, but is probably found along the western side, and 

 is not uncommon in Tuscany, while it is found in Venetia and up to 

 S. Tyrol, as well as in Sicily. It is absent however from Sardinia and 

 Corsica, and is only a straggler to the rest of Europe. [In N. W. Africa 

 it breeds in Tunisia, Algeria, and Marocco, at least as far as the Rio 

 de Oro on the W. Coast.] 

 Ne.t. rpj^e favourite haunts of this bird in S. Europe are wooded guUies 



and watercourses, or banks of rivers, though Lynes occasionally also 

 found it nesting in cistus scrub on the hillsides. In Algeria Hartert 

 found it frequenting tamarisks and beds of huge nettles. It builds its neat 

 nest in bushes of all kinds, willow, alder, oleander, arbutus, broom, etc., 

 generally from 3 to 5 ft. from the ground. The nest is compactly and 

 smoothly built of dry grasses and willow catkins or thistledown, with a 

 dead leaf or two woven in., and is lined with down, long rootlets and 

 a few hairs or rarely a few feathers. Diameter of cup nearly 2 in., 

 depth, li — 11 in. The song of the male is sweeter and less forced than 

 that of the Icterine. 

 Eggs. lu Europe 4 or sometimes 5, while 6 are said to have occurred 



rarely, but in N. Africa the clutch consists sometimes of 3 only. The 

 eggs have the same rose red ground as the Icterine's, but are often 

 brighter in tint and generally smaller, while the markings are similar., 

 but the surfac is dull and without gloss. 



Breeding Although a few pairs have eggs in S. Spain by May 12, the 



majority do not lay till about May 20. Apparently two broods are reared 

 and the eggs of the second hatch may be looked for about the third 

 week of Juue. In Algeria eggs have been taken after the third week 

 in May. 



Measure- Avcragc sizc of 100 eggs from Spain and Algeria measured by the 



writer, 17.72 X 13.22, Max. 19.2 X 13.6 and 18.6 X 1-1.5, Min. 16.1 X 13 

 and 17 X 12.3 mm. Weights of 3 eggs, 90, 80 and 80 mg. (Koenig). 



139. Olive-tree Warbler, Hippolais olivetorum (Strickl.). 



Plate 22, fig. 26 (Greece). 



Eggs: Thienemann, Fortpfl. Tab. XIX, fig. 1-4, a — c. Baedeker, 

 Tab. 19, fig. 3. Taczanowski, Tab. LII, fig. 1. Dresser, pi. — , fig. 31, 32. 



Foreign Names: Greece: Stritsida, Tirtirli. Italy: Canapino 

 levantino. 



Season. 



meiits. 



