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in question. Mr. Halting, in his ' Handbook of British Birds,' says that " a nest and four eggs, 

 believed to belong to this species, were taken in Notton Wood, near Wakefield, in June 1864;" 

 and Mr. Gould, on the authority of Mr. Howard, says that its eggs are supposed to have been 

 taken at East Grinstead. It is said by Gatke to have occurred in Heligoland ; but it has not 

 been recorded from North Germany ; and, according to Baron De Selys Longchamps, it is of very 

 rare occurrence in Belgium ; but in Luxembourg it appears to be found every summer, from the 

 plain of the Moselle to the heights of the Ardennes. Degland and Gerbe state that it is 

 abundant in Provence and throughout the south-eastern districts of France. It is known to the 

 Provencals as " Columbaonde," and arrives in the month of April, leaving in September. In 

 Portugal, according to Dr. Rey, it is found throughout the country, but is not very common. 

 He first observed it in a garden at Lisbon, his attention having been attracted to it by its song ; 

 and he found its nest in a lofty tree. He always met with it in the lofty olive and cork trees. 

 I found it common near Madrid, in Spain ; and great numbers of its eggs have lately been sent 

 by collectors from that country. Colonel Irby says that it nests in the cork-wood and vicinity of 

 Gibraltar, but is not so common as the Whitethroat. Dr. A. E. Brehm (Allg. deutsch. naturh. 

 Zeit. 1857, p. 464) says that he found it " common in Catalonia, rarer in Valencia, frequenting 

 the olive-groves. It affects localities where a few conifer trees are scattered amongst the non- 

 evergreen growth, and in Catalonia it is always most commonly found in such places. During 

 migration they visit all the conifer-groves ; and even in such trees which stand alone a pair or a 

 family will halt for a time. They migrate in September and May." Passing eastward I find it 

 recorded by Bailly from Savoy, where, he says, it is principally found in the copses on the shores 

 of the lake of Bourget, and in smaller numbers near Chambery, Annecy, Bonneville, and so on 

 to Genoa. It is a spring visitor to and breeds in Italy, where it is local, being rare in Tuscany, 

 but rather commoner in Liguria, Piedmont, and Lombardy. In the Modenese it is rare, and 

 Professor Doderlein can only cite two instances of its capture there, one in 1865 and the other 

 in 1866. In Sicily it also appears to be extremely rare, and Professor Doderlein has only 

 succeeded in obtaining a single specimen near Palermo, another one being in the Museum at 

 Catania. From Sardinia it has not yet been recorded ; but Mr. C. A. Wright records it from 

 Malta, where he says (Ibis, 1864, p. 67) that it "appears to be rare; I have only seen a single 

 specimen — one sent in 1858 to Sir W. Jardine by his son, who was serving in one of Her 

 Majesty's ships on the station. Schembri states that a few pass yearly, in March, September, 

 and October. A recent writer on Malta (Tallack) says it is common in the Soldiers' Cemetery 

 at Floriana ; but I believe this statement arose from a misunderstanding, and that the Sardinian 

 Warbler (S. melanocephala) was meant." Lord Lilford met with it in the Ionian Islands, where, 

 he says, it is occasionally seen in the spring, but is not common in Corfu. In Greece it is a 

 common summer visitant ; and my friend Mr. Seebohm informs me that it is " one of the earlier 

 summer migrants to that country and Asia Minor, arriving early in April. It breeds in the 

 Parnassus throughout the month of May, sometimes ranging almost up to the pine-region." The 

 Bitter von Tschusi-Schmiclhofen informs me that it breeds in Dalmatia, but is very rare in the 

 Tyrol ; and Messrs. Elwes and Buckley record it from Turkey. Von Norclmann speaks of it as 

 being by no means rare in the Crimea, where it appears to breed. It is found commonly in Asia 

 Minor; and Canon Tristram found it in Palestine, where he says (P. Z. S. 1864, p. 439) that it is 



