352 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



HYPOLAIS ICTERINA 



148. Hypolais icterina (Vieill.) THE ICTERINE WARBLER. 



SYLVIA ICTERINA Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., nouv. ed., xi, p. 194 

 (1817 France). 



Hypolais hypolais Seebohm, Hist. Brit. B., i, p. 381 ; and others. 

 Hypolais icterina (Vieillot), Yarrell, i, p. 360 ; Saunders, p. 75. 



DESCRIPTION. Adult male and female. Winter. 

 Whole upper -parts uniform brownish -olive ; stripe 

 from nostrils to eye and narrow ring round eye 

 pale yellow ; ear -coverts pale yellowish-brown ; 

 whole under-parts pale yellow ; sides of breast 

 and flanks slightly tinged brownish ; axillaries and 

 under wing-coverts very pale yellow ; tail-feathers 

 black-brown, outer pair very narrowly bordered 

 whitish ; rest fringed brownish -olive on outer webs ; 

 primarie.s and secondaries black-brown, tips and 

 inner webs narrowly fringed whitish, outer webs very pale olive- 

 brown ; primary, greater and median coverts dark brown fringed 

 and tipped as outer webs of secondaries ; lesser coverts olive. 

 This plumage is acquired by complete moult in July-Sept. 

 Summer. A complete moult (including wings and tail, in any case 

 in some individuals) takes place in Feb. -Mar. New plumage as 

 winter but upper-parts less brownish and more olive, and under- 

 parts of a decidedly deeper yellow. 



Nestling. (Not examined.) 



Juvenile. Like adult but whole upper -parts brown with only 

 a tinge of olive ; tail- and wing-feathers and wing-coverts fringed 

 brown ; sides of breast and flanks browner than adult, rest of under- 

 parts pale yellow as adult winter. 



First winter. Like adult but upper -parts and wing-coverts 

 rather less olive and under-parts very pale yellow. The juvenile 

 body-plumage, lesser and median wing-coverts and innermost 

 secondaries are moulted in Aug. -Nov., but not rest of wings nor 

 tail. Summer. Like adults and moult apparently same but wings 

 and tail probably always moulted. 



Measurements and structure. ^ wing 76-81 mm., tail 52-56, 

 tarsus 18-21, bill from skull 12-15 (12 measured). $ wing 72-78. 

 Primaries : 1st equal to or 1-2 mm. shorter or longer than longest 

 primary-covert, 3rd longest, 4th occasionally as long but usually 

 1 mm. shorter, 5th 3-5 shorter, 6th 8-10 shorter, 2nd between 4th and 

 5th, occasionally equal to 4th ; 3rd and 4th and sometimes 5th 

 (but not so clearly) emarginated outer webs. Secondaries rather 

 shorter than 10th primary, tips rounded. Tail fairly square, 

 tips of feathers rounded. Bill broad and flat at base. A few 

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

 feathers. 



