548 



Adult Male (Egypt). Crown, nape, back, and scapulars dull brownish rufous, the rump and upper tail- 

 coverts almost fox-red ; quills dark brown, on both webs margined with rufous nearly to the tip, the 

 inner primaries and secondaries tipped with dirty white; wing-coverts margined with very pale sandy 

 brown, almost whitish ; tail rounded, the central rectrices bright fox-red, the remainder red, the outer- 

 most broadly terminated with white, which dwindles in size until on those nearest the centre it is almost 

 lost ; all, except the central two rectrices, with a tolerably large subapical black patch ; underparts white, 

 with a brownish grey tinge ; over the eye a tolerably broad buffy white streak ; lores and a mark behind 

 the eye blackish brown ; sides of the neck and flanks washed with pale brown ; bill dull brown, yellowish 

 at the base of the under mandible ; iris dark brown; legs pale brownish. Total length about 6-75 inches, 

 culmen 0"72, wing 3'5, tail 312, tarsus 1-0 ; first primary slightly less than 0-2 shorter than the primary 

 coverts, 1*7 less than the second, second 02 shorter than the third, which latter is about equal to the 

 fourth, these two being the longest. 



Female. Undistinguishable from the male. 



Young. The young birds, even in the first plumage, when fresh fledged, closely resemble the adult birds in 

 colour, but have the quills and wing-covcrts margined with pale fulvous. 



The Rufous Warbler, which for long was erroneously supposed to be one of the aquatic Warblers, 

 and called the Rufous Sedge- Warbler, inhabits Southern Europe, but has been met with, as a 

 rare stragglei', as far north as Great Britain, where, however, it has only twice occurred. 

 Professor Newton, in the edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds' he is now editing, speaking of its 

 occurrence in England, writes (pp. 355, 356) as follows: — "For the knowledge of the first 

 occurrence of this handsome bird in England we are indebted to Mr. Borrer, who has already 

 laid this work under many obligations by his communications, and in the 'Zoologist' (p. 4511) 

 stated that on September 10th, 1854, Mr. Swaysland noticed at Plumpton Bosthill, about six 

 miles from Brighton, a bird which he at first took for a cream-coloured variety of the Night- 

 ingale. Having obtained a gun and returned to the spot, he found the bird about twenty yards 

 from where he first observed it. It was very wary, flying always to the further side of some 

 furze bushes, and mounting into the air some fifteen yards, with a flight resembling that of the 

 young of the Red-backed Shrike. He at last shot it. Mr. Borrer adds : — ' The bird on dissection 

 proved to be a male, and would shortly have moulted, one or two young feathers of the primaries 

 having made their appearance on each wing ; these are darker than the old ones. The feathers, 

 also, on the back and tail, especially the central ones of the latter, are much worn. I borrowed 

 the bird and sent it to Mr. YarrelL' It is now in the collection of Mr. Fuller-Maitland. In 

 November 1859, the late Mr. G. R. Gray recorded (Ann. & Mag. N. H. ser. 3, iv. p. 399) the 

 occurrence of a second example. This was shot in September 1859, a very strong south wind 

 having prevailed for nearly a week previously, at the Start, in Devonshire, by Mr. W. Llewellyn, 

 and given by him to the British Museum. The bird was not observed until it was shot, at which 

 moment it was flying over a stone wall, within a hundred yards of the sea. It was exceedingly 

 thin, and had lost its tail." Besides the occurrences above recorded in England, it is said to have 

 been met with on Heligoland ; but, according to Professor Blasius (Ibis, 1862, p. 66), the birds 

 obtained there are not the present species, but Aedon famtliaris, Menetr., the eastern form of 

 the present species. 



