448 



Young (Sardinia, 19th May). Upper parts dull ashy brown with a tinge of slate on the head; wings and 

 tail as in the adult, but duller ; underparts dirty greyish white ; the breast and abdomen washed with 

 warm buff. Compared with the young of M. undatus, which it otherwise somewhat resembles, it has 

 the upper parts paler and browner, and the underparts very conspicuously paler aud whiter, and lacks 

 the rusty brown tinge. 



The range of this Warbler appears to be somewhat more extensive than was supposed some few 

 years ago, when it was not known, except in the islands off the coast of Italy. It is, however, 

 strictly a South-European form, and it is very doubtful if it has occurred on the shores south of 

 the Mediterranean. It has been obtained as far north as Cape St. Vincent in Portugal, in which 

 country it was, so far as I can ascertain, quite unknown previous to its being obtained there by 

 Dr. E. Rey. This gentleman writes (J. f. O. 1872, p. 148) that he " found it tolerably common 

 at Lagos and Sagres (Cape St. Vincent), and it can be at once distinguished from M. provinciate 

 by its song." It has, however, not been met with in Spain, though it occurs in the Balearic 

 Lies, where Mr. A. von Homeyer met with it near Andraix, and shot specimens; and he further 

 states that it is very common on the hilly portions of Son Serre and Son Real, which were over- 

 grown with Pistacia lentiscus, and was nearly as numerous there as on Dragonera. Mr. Howard 

 Saunders states that he saw a specimen near Palma in Majorca, but failed to secure it. There 

 does not appear to be any authentic instance of its occurrence on the mainland of France, 

 though Vieillot says that it is found in Provence; and Salvadori expresses doubt respecting its 

 occurrence in Liguria, inasmuch as De Negri, during many years he collected near Genoa, failed 

 to obtain this species. It is, however, found in Sardinia, Sicily, and Corsica. In Sardinia it is 

 said to be common and resident ; but the different authors do not agree as to its habitat. Dr. A. 

 llansmann, in his article on the Warblers of Sardinia (Naumannia, 1S57, p. 418), states that it 

 is not rare, and invariably frequents the low spurs of the mountains in places where the cistus 

 and thorn flourish luxuriantly, and never visits the plains or the valleys ; but, on the other hand, 

 it is sometimes found in the higher mountains on the edge of the forest, in low bushes intermixed 

 with asphodel lilies. On the other hand, Mr. A. B. Brooke writes (Ibis, 1873, p. 242) as 

 follows : — " This interesting little Warbler is very common on all the uncultivated parts of 

 the plain, where the undercover (consisting chiefly of cistus) does not grow very tall or thick, 

 but is scattered sparingly; and I have never seen them in the woods. They are, as far as my 

 observations go, entirely confined to the plain, rarely, if ever wandering, even to the adjoining 

 low hills, where their place seems to be taken by the Dartford Warbler. I have only on one 

 occasion met with these two species on the same ground." In Sicily, Doderlein says, it arrives 

 in April and May, and leaves in the autumn ; but as he once obtained it in November, it is not 

 improbable that it is in Sicily, as in Sardinia, a resident. Mr. C. Bygrave Wharton obtained 

 several specimens near Ajaccio, in Corsica, last winter (1874-75); and, from what he tells me, it 

 seems to be not uncommon there. Von der Muhle says that he several times saw it on the most 

 southern point of the Maina, and shot one at Marathonisi, but never observed it elsewhere in 

 (ireece; and Messrs. Elwes and Buckley include it in their list of the birds of Turkey, without, 

 however, giving any particulars. From Greece eastward I fail to trace it; but there appears 

 some probability that it has been met with as far east as the peninsula of Sinai ; for Mr. C. W. 

 Wyatt writes (Ibis, 1870, p. 7) as follows: — "Near the embouchure of Wady Hebran, where 



