THE OLIVACEOFS WARBLER. 357 



Tail fairly square, tips of feathers rounded. Bill broad and flxt 

 at base, somewhat pronounced ridge to eulmen. A few rather 

 stiff rictal and nasal bristles. Most of nostrils bare of feathers. 

 Soft parts. — Bill dark brown, lower mandible flesh ; legs and 

 feet grey-brown ; iris dark brown. 



Characters and allied forms. — H. p. pallida (Nile Valley) 

 is of a warmer tone of brown on upper -parts, H. p. opaca (Spain, 

 north-west Africa) has considerably larger bill and is usually 

 slight]}'' more tinged with olive on vipper-parts, H. p. reiseri (southern 

 Tunisia and southern Algeria) has smaller bill and is considerabl}' 

 paler on upper -parts. H. rama is much like H. j). elceica but has 

 longer 1st i^rimary and 2nd primary is shorter than 7th. 



Field -characters. — Its uniform pale brown upper-parts and 

 wide bill are diagnostic. It is restless but not shy and is fairly 

 easily observed and is rather partial to gardens and orchards. 

 Its song is soft and pleasing though rather rambling (H.F.W.). 



Breeding-habits. — Breeds generally in bushes and scrub about 

 3 ft. from ground, also in gardens and trees occasionally as high 

 as 10 ft. Nest. — Neatly built of vegetable down and fibres or roots 

 and grasses. Eggs. — Very often 3, sometimes 4, dull greyish- 

 white ground as a rule, with black streaks and spots. Average of 

 105 eggs, 17.4x13.3 mm. Breeding-season. — Latter part May and 

 June. 



Food. — Probably entirely aphides and other insects from leaves of 

 trees and bushes, but exact data lacking. 



Distribution. — England. — One. Male, near St. Leonards-on-Sea 

 (Sussex), May 20th, 1915 {ut supra). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds in Balkan Peninsula from 

 Dalmatia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria southwards ; also in 

 Greek Islands, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Crete, Palestine, Meso- 

 potamia, Transcaucasia, Turkestan, Persia and Transcaspia. 

 Winters in Baluchistan, southern Arabia, east Africa to Albert 

 Nyanza. Replaced by other forms in Nile Valley and eastern 

 Sudan, Spain and north-west Africa and in oases of western Sahara. 



Genus SYLVIA Scopoli. 



Sylvia Scopoli, Annus I. Histor. — Nat., p. 154 (1768 — Type by subse- 

 quent designation, Gray, 1840; S. melanocephala) 



Bill not compressed, eulmen more or less curved , rictal bristles 

 less developed than in Acrocephalus and Hypolais. 1st primary 

 and shape of tail very variable. It is, however, not wise to split 

 Sylvia up into two or three genera, as several species connect such 



