312 Capt. H. Lynes on the Geographical Distribution 



of the eastern interior in May 1907 {vide 'Ibis/ ]91.2j 

 p. 121) ; on the other hand, one liears of great possibilities 

 in the little-known forests in the central parts of the island. 

 Italy. — I cannot find the records from which the con- 

 clusions are drawn. 



Willow- Warbler. 



Gibraltar. — There does not seem to be independent re- 

 cords by other than Irby, who is widely quoted ; and, with all 

 due apology for venturing to question so great an authority, 

 I have only given the record a hollow ring on the map for 

 several reasons : — First, according to '' Ornith. Str. Gib. 

 2nd ed. 1895, p. 64," it appears that the breeding statement is 

 based on field-observation only, and I think it quite possible 

 that, like myself, Irby may have been deceived by the Willow- 

 Wari)ler-like song of the Chiffchaff there, if specimens were 

 not obtained; secondly^ the locality is so very isolated from 

 the next record. 



After all the ring on the map can easily be solidified by 

 anyone who can produce a nest and eggs from Gibraltar, 

 with a specimen of the Willow-Wren shot from it. 



Sardinia and Sicily. — The records seem more doubtful 

 than for the Chiffchaff. 



In the foregoing remarks only the species have been dealt 

 with; still more obscure is the distribution of the subspecies 

 " P. t. eversmanni " and "P. c. ahietina,'^ both occurring in 

 the Mediterranean basin, .the former probably only as a 

 passage-migran% the latter known to winter on its south- 

 eastern shores (Nicoll, ' Ibis,' 1909, p. 295). 



It is surely no unworthy aim to collect and scrutinize all 

 facts, however apparently insignificant, that may throw light 

 on so great a problem of Nature as the relationship) between 

 the geographical distribution of living creatures and modifi- 

 cations of their habits and form. 



Would not the material for plotting out accurately with 

 full data the geographical distribution of even one species 

 such as the " Chiffchaft'," with its several (already recognised) 



