POLYGLOT WABBLEB. 151 



congeneric birds seem to replace each other in the south of Europe, 

 as many other closely-allied species do. 



Doderlin, "Avi-fauna del Modenese e della Sicilia," says of this 

 bird: — "Finding myself shooting in November, 1864, in a clump of 

 canes and reeds, between Castelvetrano and Campobello, near Mazzara, 

 I killed a small Sylvia, with the belly partially coloured yellow, and 

 the mantle of a grey green. Beak rather depressed at base, which I 

 at first thought was a young H. icterina. I prepared it, notwith- 

 standing; but when I arrived at Palermo, and compared it with 

 individuals of various ages of H. polyglotta, which I had had from 

 Modena and Sicily, I convinced myself that it was H. polyglotta. . . . 

 This bird lives preferentially in the bushes near ruins, and in watery 

 grounds in the southern parts of Europe. 



As this bird is common in the olives of Greece, in the Ionian 

 Islands, and in the South of Europe, it would not be impossible were 

 it sometimes found in Sicily, where the climate is soft, and the 

 culture of the olive esteemed. However, up to date it has not been 

 recorded from thence, probably because it so much resembles its 

 congeners." 



I cannot do better here than quote the following remarks of Canon 

 Tristram, from his paper on the Ornithology of Palestine ("Ibis,^' 

 1867, p. 81): — "The key to the specific distinction of all the species 

 of Hypolais is the relative length of the bastard primary. In H. 

 oUvetorum, the largest of the genus, it is extremely small, only 

 reaching half the length of the outer tetrices. In H. icterina, H. 

 upcheri, and H. ohscura of South Africa, it is the same length as the 

 tetrices. ^ In the smaller species, H. polyglotta, H. elaica, and H. 

 pallida of North Africa, it is considerably longer." 



It is difficult to define the exact geographical range of this bird in 

 consequence of the term hypolais having been used to designate S. 

 icterina as well. 



In a Dutch work, entitled "Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde nitgegeven 

 door Het Koninklijk Zoologisch Genootschass, 1851," is an excellent 

 paper by Schlegel, entitled "Observations sur le Sous-genre des 

 Pouillots (ficedula) et notamment sur le Pouillot lusciniole, Sylvia 

 polyglotta de Vieillot," from which I extract the following: — 



"The following species vary in several points from the preceding, 

 {riifa, Bonelli, etc.) We will first mention the one usually called 

 Hypolais. This species inhabits a great part of Europe, but it is 

 never found in England, and in France it is replaced in many 

 localities by the following one (S. elaica. J 



"It is generally supposed that Linuceus had this bird in his thought 



