THE BIRDS OF MESOPOTAMIA, 889 
which passes through Mesopotamia ; indeed Zarudny records it as a passage 
migrant and wintering in the Karun district. 
(2) One obtained by Cheesman on board “S. S. Lawrence ” off Fao on 
October Ist, 1920, belongs to this paler race. 
83. Marsh Warbler. Acrocephalus palustris. 
Acrocephalus palustris, Bechst. (Ornith. Taschenb., p. 186, 1803— 
Germany.) 
Cumming obtained a specimen at Fao on March 18th, 1884, and he considered 
it to be a passage migrant in March and April, as does Zarudny. Witherby 
found it common in the Highlands of Persia. We have no further records of 
this species ; I have been unable to trace this Fao bird ; no example of palustris 
is registered from Fao in the British Museum. 
84. Sedge Warbler. Acrocephalus schenobznus, 
Acrocephalus schenobenus, L. (Syst. Nat. Ed., x., p. 184 1758— 
S. Sweden). 
There is little to record about this species and its status is quite uncertain. 
Cumming obtained one at Fao on May Ist and thought it was resident there and 
says he had often seen it in long grass near the mouth of the river. Cheesman 
obtained one in a lucerne field at Ahwaz on May 24th which is a somewhat late 
date for it to be migrating, but Buxton got one at Amara on May 15th and he 
had no reason to suppose it bred there, and thinks it is an uncommon spring and 
autumn migrant. Other specimens were obtained at Basra on May 17th and 
Sheik Saad on March 24th, while I found it not uncommon in standing wheat at 
Basra on March 19th. Further observations are required. 
The specimens obtained differ in no way from European ones. 
85. Olivaceous Tree Warbler. Hypolais pallida. 
Hypolais pallida eleica, Linderm (Isis. 1843, p. 342—Greece). 
This Warbler is a very common summer visitor to the plains and is recorded 
from many places from Tekrit down to Fao. The first arrive in the last days of 
March or early in April, and towards the end of the month they are breeding. 
It is an inhabitant of scrub and gardens and the nests are placed in various situ- 
ations in suitable cover; Buxton and Tomlinson record that rose bushes are 
frequently selected, the nest being two to three feet up; Logan Home found 
nests high up in tall thistles, also in a mulberry ; while several observers noted 
nests high up in the tops of large willows. Evans, who found a nest in a citron 
bush, describes it as very small, thin walled and deep, made of white down of a 
species of grass. Eggs may be found by the middle of May. Tomlinson and 
Logan Home considered 3, rarely 4, eggs a full clutch ; others have noted 4 eggs 
while Cumming at Fao found nests with five and six eggs. By the end of June 
family parties are on the wing, though eggs just hatched are also recorded at that 
time ; the latest record of this bird is September 17th by which date most have 
gone. 
Considerable confusion has arisen over this bird ; in the B. N. H. Society’s 
pamphlet ‘‘ Notes on the Animals of Mesopotamia ”’ the records of this bird appear 
under Scotocerea inguieta, a bird which does not occur in our area. This mistake 
arose through Cumming being misled over his eggs and specimens, and in the 
Journal X XV1, p. 293, he altered the record to Hypolais languida which he had 
obtained at Fao and which he took to be the breeding bird. Jourdain did 
not entirely clear up matters when he said (t. ¢. p. 672-3) that he had examined 
the eggs and they were those of Hypolais pallida |! H.p. elwica is the only known 
breeding Hypolais in Mesopotamia. 
Sixteen specimens examined: 7 +4 ¢, Amara, 1-5-18 to 29-6-18, ¢, 17-9-18 
(P. A. B.) ; 4, Sheik Saad, 30-3-17 to 23-4-17 ; Sera, 30-4-19 ; Busra, 22-4-17 ; 
Kazimain, 12-5-19 (P. Z. C. and R. E. C.); Busra, 1918 (Hobkirk). 
