THE SARDINIAN WARBLER. 377 



Female of 8. melanocephala is smaller, has longer 1st and shorter 

 2nd primaries and graduated tail. 



FiELD-CHAKACTERS. — Black threat and white moustache con- 

 spicuous in male, otherwise much like Sardinian Warbler but larger, 

 and tail relatively shorter and squarer. Habits similar to 

 Sardinian. Song also similar but fuller and more musical and 

 frequently uttered in flight in conjunction with butterfly-like 

 movement of wings. Alarm-note harsher and louder, more 

 " chirpy " and less " wheezy " than that of Sardinian, reminding 

 one of two pebbles being knocked together rapidly ; occasionally 

 terminated by musical " pit-pit." (H. Lynes.) 



Breeding-habits. — Haunts bushes and thickets, especially near 

 lakes and watercourses. Nest. — Neatly built of dead grasses and 

 stalks, lined with horsehair. Eggs. — 4-5 in number, somewhat 

 resembling those of Spectacled Warbler ; pale greenish ground, 

 closely mottled all over with yellowish spots and fine grey sheU- 

 marks. Average of 25 eggs, 17.8x13.9 mm. Breeding-season. — 

 May 14-28 in Asia Minor (Selous). 



Food. — Lisects, but no exact details available. 



Distribution. — England. — Two males, Baldslow, Hastings, Sussex, 

 May 5, 1914 (uf siq^ra). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds in Greece, Asia Minor, Crete, 

 and probably in Palestine and Cyprus. Passes through Egypt. 

 Winters in north-east Africa (Nubia, Sudan, Red Sea). 



SYLVIA MELANOCEPHALA 



158. Sylvia melanocephala melanocephala (Gm.) — THE 

 SARDINIAN WARBLER. 



MoTACiLLA MELANOCEPHALA Gmelin, Syst. Nat., I, ii, p. 970 (1789 — 



Sardinia). 



Sylvia melanocephala, C. B. Ticehurst, Bull. B.O.C., xix, p. 105; T. 



Parkin, Brit. B., i, p. 86 ; Saunders, p. 46 (in text). 



Description (Plate 13). — Adult male. Winter. — Fore-head, 

 crown, nape, lores and ear-coverts glossy jet-black ; rest of upper- 

 parts dark ash-grey with slight brownish tinge ; chin and throat 

 white ; breast and belly rather less pure white, sometimes with 

 slight pink tinge on upper-breast and vent ; sides and flanks ash- 

 grey ; tibial feathers ash-grey tipped pink ; under tail-coverts 

 ash-grey tipped white ; axillaries ash-grey ; under wing-coverts 

 whiter ; tail-feathers black fringed ash-grey, outer pair with 

 outer web and distal quarter to third white, next three pairs with 

 varying amount of white or yellowish-white at tip ; wing-feathers 

 brown-black, inner webs fringed whitish, outer webs fringed ash- 



