SEDGE-WARBLER. 353 



Willow-Larkj although Gilbert White appears to have unwittingly done 

 his best to confuse him by confounding the Reed- Warbler with the Sedge- 

 Warbler*. Pennant, however, was indebted to White for a correct descrip- 

 tion of the habits of the bird, which fortunately do not differ much from 

 those of its ally. 



This now well-known bird is a common summer visitor to all parts of 

 England, breeding more or less abundantly in every county. In his 

 ' Birds of Guernsey/ Mr. Smith states that it is local and by no means so 

 common as the Reed-Warbler. In Scotland it is a very abundant species, 

 especially in the western counties, from Wigtown to the north of Argyle ; 

 and it is not uncommon in Western Inverness and Sutherland. It becomes 

 more local in the Western Islands, being found in Mull and Islay, but is 

 apparently absent from the Outer Hebrides. In Ireland the bird is. equally 

 common and widely distributed. 



On the Continent the Sedge- Warbler has a somewhat extensive range, 

 being found in Norway as far north as lat. 70°, in Sweden and North 

 Russia to lat. 68°, and in the valleys of the Obb and the Yenesay to 

 lat. 67°. Its extreme abundance in the latter valley makes it very probable 

 that it may occur still further to the east in the valley of the Lena. In 

 the south of Europe it is principally known as passing through on migra- 

 tion ; but it is said occasionally to remain to breed in Spain, the south of 

 France, Italy, and Greece. In Corfu and Crete Colonel Drummond Hay 

 states that it is a resident. In Algeria, Egypt, and Asia Minor it is prin- 

 cipally known as a winter visitor; but a few probably also remain in these 

 localities to breed, as Dixon shot it in the oasis of Biskra in Algeria in 

 May. Canon Tristram states that it breeds in Palestine ; and Bogdanow 

 saw it in the Caucasus in autumn. It does not appear to have occurred in 

 Persia ; but it is found in North-west Turkestan. It is perhaps more 

 abundant in Russia than in any other country, and is generally distributed 

 throughout the rest of Europe; but, curiously enough, it is said not to 

 occur in South Norway and in Lombardy — two localities apparently well 

 suited to its requirements. Its winter range extends far down into South 

 Africa, as it has been obtained in Damara Land and the Transvaal. I 

 have in my collection two skins from Potchefstrom, in the latter district, 

 one dated February and the other dated 18th of April, both of which are 

 moulting their quill feathers. 



The Sedge-Warbler arrives in its breeding-haunts by the latter end of 



* It is remarkable that such an accurate observer as Gilbert White should have con- 

 fused two such distinct birds together. His description, " head, back, and coverts of the 

 wings of a dusky brown, without those dark spots of the Grasshopper Lark," can only 

 apply to the Reed-Warbler ; but his further remark, " over each eye is a milk-white 

 stroke," must surely apply to the Sedge-Warbler. 



VOL. I. 2 A 



