THE SARDINIAN WARBLER 379 



Measurements and structure. — ^ wing 57-62 mm., tail 58-65, 

 tarsus 20-23, bill from skuU 12-13.5 (12 measured). $ wing 56-63. 

 Primaries : 1st 2-6 mm. longer than longest primary-coverts, 3rd 

 to 5th equal and longest (5th rarely 1-2 shorter), 2nd 4-5 shorter 

 (between 7th and 8th or equal to 7th or 8th), 6th 1-3 shorter, 7th 

 3-5 shorter ; 3rd to 5th emarginated outer webs. Secondaries 

 about 2 mm. shorter than 10th primary, tips fairly square. Tail 

 graduated, central pair longest, outermost pair 7-12 mm. shorter, 

 12 feathers, tips rounded. Bill fine, base rather flatter and broader, 

 tip fine and compressed. A few small and fine rictal and nasal 

 bristles. Nostrils not covered by feathers. 



Soft parts. — Bill black, base of lower mandible pale horn ; 

 legs and feet flesh -brown ; iris bright brown ; orbital ring and 

 eyelids salmon-pink in adult, pinkish-brown in juvenile. 



Characters and allied forms. — 8. m. momus (Palestine, Syria) 

 is very similar but rather smaller, male is paler on under-parts 

 especially on flanks, female is browner on crown and has paler 

 and more huffish flanks ; S. m. norrisre (Fayum — Egypt) is browner 

 on ujjper-iDarts and has under-parts w^ashed with pink) ; S. m. 

 leucogastra (Avestern Canaries) is similar to last but with consider- 

 ably less white at tips of outer tail-feathers. Female S. riippelli is 

 larger, has shorter 1st and longer 2nd primaries, and joaler upper- 

 parts. S. atricapilla is much larger and has no white in tail. 



Field-characters. — Graduated, black and white tail, small 

 size as compared with Blackcap, black cap and pure white throat 

 of male are all noticeable characters, but females and young require 

 more careful observation and graduated tail which is constantly 

 spread must be looked for. Found on hills and in plains both in 

 trees and in short scrub. It is restless and active and easily 

 alarmed, when it seeks cover (but soon reappears) and utters 

 stuttering string of harsh alarm-notes loud for size of bird. (H.F.W.) 



Breeding-habits. — Nests in thick bushes in gardens and sheltered 

 places ; about 2 to 4 ft. from ground, sometimes in low branches 

 of trees. Nest. — Neatly and substantially built of dead stalks 

 and grasses, with a little down, lined with finer grasses and some- 

 times with roots or horsehair. Eggs. — Normally 4-5, sometimes 

 only 3 : Lilford reports 6 once. Variation extreme : some types 

 not unlike Whitethroat's, or Sedge-Warbler's, others resemble 

 very large and boldly marked eggs of Lesser Whitethroat, while 

 erythristic types are not uncommon, some being thickly speckled 

 with light sienna-brown and grey or boldly spotted and blotched 

 with sienna-red. Average of 100 eggs, 17.8 X 13.6 mm. Breed- 

 ing-season. — From mid-March onward in Spain, but most eggs 

 found in second half April. Probably rears two broods at any 

 rate. Incubation. — Period not known, but male shares. 



