302 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



hear the whole family every day in my garden until the 8th of 

 August, when they disappeared, though they probably stayed some 

 short time longer in the fields among the potato and cabbage plots. 

 As early as the 4th of the same month I have caught here a 

 young S. sibilatrix, and on the 7th a young S. phragmitis. 



This Warbler breeds in northern France, Germany, Kussia, and 

 beyond the Ural. The northern range of its breeding area extends to 

 central Scandinavia. In England the bird has only been met with 

 twice. 



116. Melodious Warbler [SANGER LAUBVOGEL]. 

 SYLVIA POLYGLOTTA, Vieillot. 1 



Hypolais polyglotta. Seebohm, Cat. of Birds of Brit. Mus., v. 79. 



Melodious Warbler. Dresser, ii. 517. 



Bee-Jin icterine. Temminck, Manuel, iii. 1 50. 



I obtained a very tine example of this species on the 23rd 

 of May 1846; since that time the bird has not been seen here 

 again. This is not surprising; for although it is met with as a 

 breeding species as far as central France, it belongs to those pre- 

 eminently western species which never exhibit a tendency towards 

 deviating to the east from the strict north-to-south course of their 

 migration. 



This Warbler displays a great similarity to the preceding 

 species, but is distinguished from the latter by its smaller size, the 

 more intense yellow coloration of its lower parts, and the different 

 construction of the wing. In S. hypolais the total length of the latter 

 is 3'07 ins. (78 mm.), in 8. polyglotta it is only 2'56 ins. (65 mm.); in 

 the former species the second flight-feather is shorter than the 

 fourth, and the third -04 in. (1 mm.) longer than the fourth ; in 

 the latter the second is shorter than the sixth, and the third, fourth, 

 and fifth, which are of almost equal size, form the tip of the 

 wing. 



Sylvia polyglotta nests preferably in Spain and Portugal ; few 

 examples are found breeding in central France, and still fewer in 

 Italy. It is also said to have been caught once or twice in Belgium, 

 and once in Austria. 



1 Hypolais polyglotta ( Vieill. ). 



