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The Rufous Warbler does not seem to have been met with in France ; but, according to 

 Professor Barboza du Bocage, it is common in Portugal, and in Spain it is a common summer 

 resident, and numbers breed in that country. Mr. Howard Saunders (Ibis, 1871, p. 214) says 

 that it is " abundant in Southern Spain in summer, breeding in the vineyards, frequently between 

 the leaves of the cactus, of which the hedges are composed ;" and Lord Lilford writes to me as 

 follows: — " I found it pretty common in Andalucia, near Seville, in May 1869, and generally saw 

 it about the prickly-pear hedges, and occasionally in dry bush-covered localities, vineyards, &c. 

 It occurs in Central Spain, though I did not meet with it there. In the province of Murcia it is 

 known by the name of 'Alzarrabo,' from its habit of constantly lifting and lowering its tail 

 after the fashion of the Redstarts." According to Professor Newton (I. c), Mr. Gould possesses 

 a specimen said to have been obtained in Savoy; and Count Salvadori (Ucc. d'ltalia, p. 118) 

 records one instance of its occurrence in Italy, a specimen having been obtained in the valley of 

 Polcevera, in Liguria. Mr. C. A. Wright, who records its occurrence at Malta, says that " it is 

 rare, and does not occur annually. It has most often been observed in September. One taken 

 in that month in 1857 lived for some time in captivity." The present species, so far as I can 

 judge, does not occur in Greece or Asia Minor, being there replaced by Aedon familiaris. 

 Canon Tristram certainly says (I. c.) that Aedon galactodes is the form found in Greece ; but I 

 have procured specimens from Dr. Kriiper, collected by him in that country as well as in Asia 

 Minor, so as to ascertain for certain which form is found there ; and all are very decided examples 

 of Aedon familiaris. Besides this I may add that, according to Professor Newton, specimens in 

 the Strickland Collection at Cambridge, obtained in the Morea, are also referable to Aedon 

 familiaris, and not to Aedon galactodes. However, the present form was found by Canon 

 Tristram in Palestine, where he says (Ibis, 1867, p. 80) that it alone, and not Aedon familiaris, 

 occurs, and that " it is perhaps the most abundant species in summer. But it returns very late. 

 On the 14th of April this species appeared in great numbers, and overspread every part of the 

 country, wet or dry, where there were bushes or reeds. The return was simultaneous, and from 

 that time its bright chestnut plumage, with its black-and-white-tipped tail expanded like a fan, 

 enlivened every thicket and thorn-bush. In no way whatever does it resemble the Marsh- 

 Warblers in action or note. Its song is low, soft, and mellifluous. It is constantly seen, and, 

 instead of skulking in thickets, hops here and there, perching on the outmost bough of any bush 

 or on the stem of a tall cane, expanding and jerking its tail like a Wren. It is curious that a 

 bird which remains all the winter in the Sahara should be so late a migrant in the warm regions 

 of the Holy Land. The species there is identical with that of South Europe and North Africa ; 

 and out of the innumerable birds we saw, of which we preserved over thirty specimens, I never 

 met with an individual of Aedon familiaris (Menetr.), said to be the common species in Asia 

 Minor." There is some difficulty in defining the range of the present species and of Aedon 

 familiaris in this part of the world ; for they appear to meet here. In the Berlin Museum there 

 are, amongst the specimens collected by Hemprich and Ehrenberg, two specimens from Beyrout 

 of Aedon familiaris, all the others being Aedon galactodes ; and I have one specimen of Aedon 

 familiaris from Syria. As regards North-east Africa, Von Heuglin says that both forms occur ; 

 but all the African specimens I have examined are undoubtedly referable to the present species, 

 and not to Aedon familiaris, though I find them subject to some variation in tone of colour. 



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