THE BIRDS OF FAIR ISLE 133 



Phylloscopus superciliosus, Yellow-browed Warbler. 

 — This is a favourite with me ; I made its acquaintance 

 at Fair Isle during my visit in 1905, and have seen it 

 each autumn I have returned to the island, as many 

 as seven examples on a single day. It is a regular 

 visitor on autumn passage in small numbers ; but since 

 it is very partial to retreats on the face of the great 

 range of lofty cliffs on the west side of the isle, it is 

 doubtless more abundant than our knowledge permits us 

 to assert. 



The earliest record for its appearance is 19th 

 September ; but it usually arrives during the fourth 

 week of that month, and has occurred each year during 

 the first half of October. The latest date for its 

 presence on the island was on 29th October in 1907. 



In addition to the retreats and feeding-ground 

 afforded by the face of the cliffs, this bird also visits the 

 crofted portion of the island, where it is chiefly to be 

 found in the cover afforded by the potato plots. 



Hypolais hypolais, Icterine Warbler. — The first 

 specimen known to have occurred in Scotland was 

 observed on some bare, open ground on ist June 1908. 

 It appeared amid a rush of birds, and proved to be a 

 female. Between the 3rd and 5th of June 191 1 no less 

 than three appeared. Although this species is a summer 

 visitor to Scandinavia, it has only been occasionally found 

 singly on our shores during the periods of its passage 

 movements. As the bird is not uncommon in the north- 

 western portion of the Continent of Europe, its migration 

 routes to and from Norway presumably do not traverse 

 our British shores. 



AcROCEPHALUS SHCENOBiENUS, Sedge- Warbler.— A\- 

 though this is a regular and fairly abundant visitor on 

 II. I 2 



