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as a British species ; and I agree with him so far, that I think much more information than 

 is at present available is necessary ere it can be proved to visit our shores regularly, as several 

 competent authorities believe it to do. But that it does occur in England, at least as a straggler, 

 is certain ; for Mr. Monk, of Lewes, has forwarded to me a specimen for examination which is 

 undoubtedly referable to the present species, and not to Acrocephalus streperus ; and it is probable 

 that the present species has occurred in other instances and been overlooked, owing to its extreme 

 similarity to Acrocephalus streperus. Mr. Cecil Smith writes to me as follows : — " I can say no 

 more as to the occurrence of this bird in Somerset than I said at p. 4713 of the 'Zoologist' for 

 1875, namely that Mr. Howard Saunders and myself found four specimens of the Marsh- Warbler 

 in the collection of Dr. "Woodforde, all of which were killed near Taunton ; and in the same case 

 with one pair wei - e the nest and one of the eggs which it contained, which was taken at the same 

 time that the birds were shot. I have compared Dr. Woodforde's birds with several skins of 

 both the Marsh- and the Reed-Warbler, and have no doubt of their identity." 



On the continent of Europe, however, the Marsh- Warbler is widely distributed. It does not 

 occur in Norway; and it is very doubtful if it has ever been met with in Sweden, though it is 

 said to have bred there, and to be found near Gothenburg. Professor Sundevall says that he 

 has received a specimen from that locality which appeared to him to resemble A. palustris more 

 than A. streperus; but he does not adduce any further evidence in proof of its occurrence; and 

 Mr. Moves remarks that, although he tried everywhere to find this bird, he never succeeded in 

 obtaining one ; but an egg, which he says was that of a Marsh- Warbler, was sent to him, and he 

 was told that it was taken near Landskrona. It does not appear to have been met with in 

 Finland; but Mr. Sabaniieff informs me that it is commoner than A. streperus in the Govern- 

 ments of Moscow and Jaroslaf, and is found in great numbers on the islands of the Volga. In 

 the Ural it is common in the Pavdinskaya Dacha, and nests in the bushes on the black-earth 

 plains, where A. streperus does not occur. In many parts of Germany it is said to be commoner 

 than the Reed-Warbler. Naumann says that in Anhalt, Saxony, and Brandenburg it is not rare, 

 and in Holstein, especially in Southern Dittmarschen, it is very common. According to Borggreve 

 it is commoner on the Elbe and in parts of Pomerania than A. streperus. Dr. Altum found it 

 latterly more common near Minister, where A. streperus is nowhere wanting in suitable localities; 

 and Boeck only obtained A. palustris in Prussia. Professor Kjaerbolling says that A. palustris 

 breeds at Thyrsbaek, near Copenhagen, arriving late in April and leaving in August or September ; 

 and, as above stated, it is said to be common in Holstein. In some portions of the countries 

 skirting the Rhine it appears to be numerous ; and I have received many eggs from the vicinity 

 of Andernach, in Rhenish Prussia. Professor Schlegel says that in Holland it is commoner than 

 A. streperus, and breeds throughout the country in suitable localities, arriving early in May and 

 leaving in September. In Belgium it is not rare on the banks of the Meuse, and is not unfre- 

 quently found tolerably far from water; and Messrs. Degland and Gerbe write that in France 

 " it appears not unfrequently in the Departement du Nord. M. Demezemacker has on several 

 occasions killed it near Bergues, where it probably breeds ; M. Baillon has obtained it near 

 Abbeville ; and M. lAbbe Caire frequently met with it in the Basses- Alpes, where it only occurs 

 near Barcelonette and on the tops of the mountains." M. Adrien Lacroix says that it arrives 

 together with A. streperus, and frequents the same localities in the French Pyrenees. He met 



