THE WOOD-WARBLER. 103 



Family TURDWsE. Subfamily 5 YL VIINsE. 



THE WOOD-WARBLER. 



Phylloscopus sibilatrix, BECHST. 



AS regards the geographical distribution of this species on the Continent, I 

 cannot do better than quote Howard Saunders : " The Wood- Wren has 

 not yet been proved to visit Norway, but it is found in Sweden as far North 

 as Upsala ; while it is very common in the Baltic Provinces, rarer in South 

 Finland, and a straggler to Archangel. Eastward it can be traced to Kazan, 

 the lower valley of the Volga, the Caucasus, and the western shore of the 

 Caspian. In Palestine, Asia Minor and Greece, it occurs on migration ; but it 

 breeds in Turkey, Transylvania, and Europe generally, although rarely in the 

 extreme south ; while in Portugal the bird seems to be almost unknown. It 

 appears probable that a few remain during the summer in the mountain forests 

 of the Atlas ; the winter migrations extending to the Gold Coast on the west 

 side of Africa, and to Abyssinia on the east." 



In England it is generally distributed, breeding in many suitable localities ; it 

 is very local in Scotland, but in Ireland it is absolutely rare. 



The Wood- Warbler is the largest British species of its genus, and has the 

 longest wings. The adult bird, which varies very slightly in colouring throughout 

 the year, has the upper surface yellowish-green, the rump and upper tail-coverts 

 being most yellow in tint ; the wing-coverts olive-green with the margins of the 

 feathers paler; the flights greyish-brown, externally edged with green and tipped 

 with whitish, the innermost secondaries with broader pale margins ; tail greyish- 

 brown, the outer webs greenish, and the inner webs pale greyish on the edges. 

 From the bill over the eye and beyond it is a broad sulphur-yellow superciliary 

 stripe. The under surface is pure white ; the chin, throat and breast suffused with 

 sulphur-yellow ; the axillaries, under wing-coverts and thighs are also yellow. Bill 

 dark brown, the lower mandible paler at the base ; feet brown ; iris hazel. 



