51 



THE ORPHEAN WARBLER. 



{Sylvia orphea.) 



*" I ^HE Orphean Warbler, as its name implies, 

 -'- is another noted song bird ; but, though 

 not uncommon in some parts of Europe and 

 Asia, its claim to be included amongst our British 

 warblers rests on very slender grounds. So 

 long ago as July, 1848, a pair of this species 

 were observed in a small plantation near We- 

 therby, and the hen bird was shot and for- 

 warded to Sir William Milner, who informed 

 Mr. Yarrell of the fact. On this single instance 

 it was included by the last-named naturalist in 

 his " History of British Birds." Since the last 

 edition of that work was published (1856), 

 there is reason to believe that the Orphean 

 Warbler has occurred again at least on two 

 occasions in England. In June, 1866, the late 

 Sergeant-Major Hanley, of the ist Life Guards, 

 well known as a bird fancier, purchased a young 



