

THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 303 



117. Olive-tree Warbler [OLIVEN-SANGER]. 

 SYLVIA OLIVETORUM, Strickland. 1 



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



Olive-tree Warbler. Dresser, ii. 527. 



Bee-Jin des oliviers. Temminck, Manuel, iv. 611. 



One of these Warblers was shot in 1860 by a boy with a blow- 

 pipe. Unfortunately, I only heard of it a few days after. In the 

 interval children had been playing with the bird, and had so 

 completely ruined it that it was no longer fit for preserving. 

 Ignorance, unfortunately, too often entails losses of this kind. 

 For instance, one day Aeuckens brought me a complete set of the 

 tail-feathers of a Stonechat, all of which, with the exception of the 

 central pair, were entirely black, except on the upper sixth portion 

 of their length. It appears that boys had been plucking Common 

 Stonechats in the fields, among which was the bird whose tail was 

 brought to me by Aeuckens. It happened at the end of August, a 

 time at which the young birds of many different species of Stone- 

 chats closely resemble each other. 



However, I was to some extent compensated for the loss of this 

 Warbler ; for, in the course of the same summer, from the 12th of 

 May to the 18th of June, I obtained the following rarities: 

 Saxicola aurita, a splendid white male ; Turdus saxatilis, an old 

 female; Muscicapa albicollis, a beautiful old male; Emberiza 

 melanocephala, an old male ; and finally, Charadrius fulvus. 



The Olive-tree Warbler breeds in Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, 

 and north Africa, 



118. Olivaceous Warbler [BLASSER SANGER]. 

 SYLVIA PALLIDA, Ehrenberg. 2 



Hypolais pallida. Seebohm, Cat. of Birds of Brit. Mus., v. 82. 

 Olivaceous Warbler. Dresser, ii. 537. 



Until September 20th 1883, when my son Ludwig shot the one 

 example of this species in my possession, this bird had never been 

 observed north-west of Greece. The time of its occurrence here is 

 a very unusual one for birds belonging to south-eastern species, and 

 we may probably assume that the individual in question had been 

 roving about ever since June in northern or north-western areas, 

 and was, at the time of its capture, engaged on its homeward 

 passage. 



1 Hypolais olivetorum (Strickl.). ! Hypolais pattida (Ehr.). 



