356 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS, 



Distribution. — Abroad. — ^France, with exception of northernmost 

 departments (north of Somme), south-west Europe and north-west 

 Africa, Italy. Rare visitor to Belgium, Heligoland, Bohemia and 

 Mora%na. Accidental Madeira. Winters in west Africa. 



HYPOLAIS PALLIDA 



150. Hypolais pallida el aeica(Linderm.) — THE OLIVACEOUS 

 WARBLER. 



Salicaria EL^rcA Lindermayer, Isis, 1843, pp. 342, 343 (Greece). 

 Hypolais p. pallida* T. Parkin, Brit. B., ix, p. 198. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Whole upper- 

 parts uniform pale greyish-brown with an olivaceous tinge ; narrow 

 stripe from base of bill and over eye creamy-white ; ear-coverts 

 and sides of neck very pale brown ; whole under-parts including 

 axillaries and under tail-coverts creamy-white, sides of breast 

 and flanks tinged very pale brown ; tail-feathers dark brown, 

 inner webs very narrowly margined creamy-white and outer webs 

 of outermost pair pale dusk}- sometimes whitish ; primaries and 

 secondaries dark brown with inner webs narrowly fringed white 

 and outer webs fringed pale brown ; all wing-coverts dark brown 

 fringed and tipped pale brown as rest of upper-parts. This plumage 

 is acquired by complete moult in July-Get. Summer. — A complete 

 moult (including wings and tail) takes place Jan.-March. New 

 plumage as winter. 



Nestling. — (Not examined.) 



Juvenile. — Like adult and only distinguishable by looser 

 structure of feathers. 



First winter. — Like adult. The juvenile body-plumage, median 

 and lesser wing-coverts and innermost secondaries are moulted 

 July-Get. but not rest of wings or tail. 



Measurements and structure. — (^ wing 64-68 mm., tail 50-55, 

 tarsus 20-23, bill from skull 12.5-14, width at base 4.75-6 (12 

 measured). ^ wing 63-65. Primaries : 1st 3-7 mm. longer than 

 longest primary-covert, 3rd and 4th about equal and longest, 

 5th sometimes equal but usuall}^ 1-2 mm. shorter, 6th 2-5 shorter, 

 7th 5-8 shorter, 2nd somewhat variable usually equal to 6th, 

 sometimes between 5th and 6th or 6th and 7th, occasionally 

 between 7th and 8th ; 3rd to 5th emarginated on outer webs. 

 Secondaries rather shorter than 10th primary, tips rounded. 



* The example recorded by Mr. T. Parkin has been examined by me 

 (by courtesy of the owner, Mr. J. B. Nichols) and I find it to belong to the 

 more greyish northern form and not to the typical Egyptian form. I have 

 also compared the specimens collected by Lindermayer which are in the 

 Brehm collection at Tring. — E.H. 



