443 



the summer." I am also indebted to Mr. A. C. Stark for the following note : — " This bird 

 breeds abundantly on the mountains at the back of Algeciras, Andalucia, at a height of from 

 1000 to 3000 feet. Three nests that I found were in the same situation, viz. low down between 

 the stems of the tall heather. On 10th May I shot a female off three fresh eggs." In Italy, 

 Salvadori says, it is resident in Liguria, Tuscany, the Roman States, Sardinia, Naples, and 

 Sicily, especially in the southern portions, and is of accidental occurrence in the Veronese 

 Territory. Malherbe says that it is not common in Sicily, and nests in the vicinity of Catania 

 and Palermo. Mr. A. B. Brooke writes (Ibis, 1873, p. 243) that in Sardinia it is common in 

 the low hills covered with cistus, heather, &c, but not so numerous as M. sardus. It is said 

 to occur in Corsica ; and Schembri includes it in his list of the birds of Malta on the strength of 

 the capture of a single specimen. In Greece it appears to be very rare ; for Dr. Kriiper informs 

 me that he never met with it, though both Lindermayer and Von der Miihle include it. I find 

 no reliable record of its occurrence in Asia Minor, though Professor Newton says that it is stated 

 to be found there ; but Canon Tristram met with it in Palestine, frequenting the bushes in the 

 most barren portions of the country; and it also occurs in North-east Africa, where Captain 

 Shelley did not meet with it ; but Dr. Th. von Heuglin says that it is very rare in Lower Egypt, 

 where it appears with the subalpine Warbler and Ruppell's Warbler between the 20th and 25th 

 March. In North-west Africa it is said to be commoner. Canon Tristram, who met with it in 

 Algeria, writes (Ibis, 1859, p. 418) that it is " abundant in winter in the dayats, but never 

 approaching the oases or the habitations of man. I do not believe that it is sedentary in the 

 Sahara, but retires to the mountains to breed. I have taken several nests in the Atlas in the 

 months of May and June." Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt-Drake records it as being common in Morocco ; 

 and, according to Colonel Irby, Favier states that it " is resident, but not abundant, near Tangier. 

 Some migrate to Europe in March, to return in August. It is solitary in habits. They make a 

 clumsy nest of grass and roots, lined with very fine coils of palmetto fibre, laying in April." 



In habits the present species is extremely active and restless. It is most frequently met 

 with on the large furze-covered commons which still exist in many parts of Southern England ; 

 and though by no means uncommon in some of these open spaces, it is extremely hard to obtain, 

 because of its shyness and its fondness for keeping close to the densest thickets of gorse. It will, 

 when undisturbed, flit from bush to bush with a peculiar jerky flight, now and then uttering its 

 short song whilst perched on the topmost spray of a furze bush, now flitting after an insect ; but 

 at the first sign of danger it drops down into the dense brushwood, and creeps through like a 

 mouse, only appearing for a moment at the intervening open spaces ; and even if one should be 

 shot it is no easy task to find it. The call-note, which is usually uttered when the bird is quietly 

 perched on the top of a bush, or when it pauses for a second whilst flitting about, is a harsh 

 cha, cha, and is often accompanied by somewhat droll gesticulations. During the summer 

 season the Dartford Warblers are scattered somewhat sparingly over the commons ; but in the 

 autumn they are said to collect and remain together during the winter; and, as stated by 

 Professor Newton, Mr. Bury has noticed when shooting in the Isle of Wight in winter that 

 they are constantly driven up from the turnip-fields before the dogs. 



An anonymous writer, who published some excellent ornithological information under the 

 name of "Rusticus," gives (Mag. Nat. Hist. vi. p. 112, 1833) a few notes on the present species, 



