426 SYLVIIDJl. 



" the beak black and very strong, the whole upper part of 

 the plumage dark ash-coloured brown. The outer feather 

 of the tail white; the second on each side edged with dirty 

 white, the rest of a brownish-black*. Chin dirty white; 

 throat and belly brownish-white ; under surface of the wings 

 and vent light brown. Legs very strong; toes and claws 

 black. The whole length 6 inches 3 lines." The irides of 

 a bird obtained in Zante by Strickland were pale hazel. 



The young of the year resemble the female. 



It may be observed of this species that the hen, under the 

 name of " Fauvette" was sufficiently well figured in the 

 4 Planches Enluminees ' (No. 579, fig. 1), and described in 

 Buffon's accompanying text (vi. p. 31), as well as in his 

 ' Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux ' (v. p. 117). The figure 

 Boddaert erroneously referred to Linnseus's Motacilla liypo- 

 lais, and Buffon as wrongly thought it was the " Pettichaps " 

 of Willughby. Whether any former writer clearly discri- 

 minated the species may be doubtful, but there can be little 

 question of the propriety of regarding Temminck as the first 

 to place it on a firm footing. Vieillot afterwards called it 

 Sylvia grisea. 



* This description, however, does not seem to be quite accurate, since the tail 

 of the hen is marked like that of the cock, the colours being only less bright. 



