The Yellow-Browed Warbler. 93 



regarded as a Britisli bird, which for a quarter of a century remained doubtful, 

 may now be said to be established." * 



To Aviculturists Mr. Swailes is well-known as a successful breeder of British 

 Birds in out- door aviaries. 



Touching the distribution of Phylloscopus sttpcrciliostis, Seebohm writes: — "The 

 breeding- range of the Yellow-browed Warbler is supposed to be confined to the 

 pine- forests of North-eastern Siberia, from the valley of the Yenesay eastwards to 

 the Pacific, and from the mountains of Lake Baikal northwards to the Arctic circle. 

 It passes through Mongolia and North China on migration and winters in South 

 China, Assam, Burma, and North-east India. Like some other Siberian birds which 

 winter in South-east Asia, a few examples appear more or less regularly to take 

 the wrong turning at Yeniseisk, and, instead of accompanying the main body of 

 the migratory species, which follow the course of the Angora through Lake Baikal 

 into the valley of the Amoor, join the smaller stream of migration, which flows 

 westwards into Persia and Kurope." 



In the spring the adult bird above is olive-green, the rump and upper tail- 

 coverts yellower ; wing-coverts, flights and tail-feathers brown, edged with olive- 

 green, the median and greater wing-coverts broadly tipped with greenish-yellow, 

 forming two distinct bands, the secondaries and several of the primaries tipped 

 with yellowish-white ; a greenish-yellow superciliary stripe which becomes whitish 

 behind the ear-coverts ; under-surface white, tinged with greenish-yellow, the axil- 

 laries, under wing-coverts, and thighs yellowish ; bill dark brown, feet brown, iris 

 hazel. After the autumn moult the colouring is brighter and yellower. Young 

 birds are greener and have a less defined eye- stripe than adults. 



The home of this little bird is made in the pine-forests of N.E. Siberia, where 

 Mr. Seebohm found it very common, he describes its call-note as a plaintive ivccst, 

 whereas Gatke says " This call has the sound of a somewhat long-drawn, softly 

 intoned ' hjiiph,' and somewhat approaches in character the call-note of Anthiis 

 pratensis.'" \ However, it was reserved for Mr. Seebohm to be the first discoverer 

 of the nest of this interesting species on the 26th June, 1877 : — " As we were 

 walking along a little bird started up near us, and began most persistently to 

 utter the well-known cry of the Yellow-browed Warbler. As it kept flying around 

 us from tree to tree, we naturally came to the conclusion that it had a nest near. 

 We searched for some time unsuccessfully, and then retired to a short distance, 



* One of the specimens recorded by Jlr. Swailes has, since, been presented by him to the Natural 

 Histor}' Museum. 



t I should judge that Gatke's rendering of bird-notes was more likely to be accurate than Seebohm's, and 

 heeffe (or more probably hweeph) is likely to be a call-note, whereas tueest is certainly not.— A.G.B. 

 Vol. ,. j^ 



