350 SYLVIID^E. 



falling short of middle of tail and never 



exceeding it by more than length of hind 



toe. 



//". Tail about twice length of wing SUYA, p. 443. 



h". Tail about once and a half length of 



wing or less PEINIA, p. 447 



Genus AEDON, Boie, 1826. 



The genus Aedon is represented in India by one species, which 

 is a somewhat rare winter visitor and confined at that season to 

 the dry parts of the north-west. It is more richly coloured than 

 most of the Warblers, the chestnut and white on the tail rendering 

 it conspicuous. It is a bird of restricted migration. The bill is 

 about half the length of the head, slender and similar in shape to 

 that of Locustella (fig. 113). The forehead is clothed with short 

 thick-set feathers and there are no supplementary bristles ; this 

 character, and the longer wing and foot, separate the species from 

 Sylvia, in which Seebohm places it. The tail is very ample and 

 much rounded. 



Fig. 111. Wing of A. familiar is. 



Fig. 112. Foot of A. Jamiliaris. 



The Grey-backed Warbler frequents gardens, fields, and low 

 jungle and feeds a good deal on the ground, as might be expected 

 in a bird with so comparatively long a tarsus. This Warbler 

 and its European ally, A. galactodes, were at one time considered 

 to be aquatic in their habits, and in this respect to resemble the 

 Grasshopper- and Reed- Warblers, but they are now known to be 

 rather addicted to dry localities. They construct a cup-shaped 

 nest in bushes and low trees and lay four or five eggs, grey marked 

 with brown. The Indian species is not likely to be found breeding 

 in any part of the Empire. 



