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it ranges eastward into North-west India. Messrs. Degland and Gerbe say (I. c.) that it inhabits 

 the south of France, and is occasionally seen in the north. M. Crespon states that it is resident 

 in the Department of Gard, where he has obtained it at all seasons. I do not find any authentic 

 record of its occurrence in Portugal ; but Mr. Howard Saunders has received several specimens 

 from Spain, where it is said to be common in the swamps and reed-beds near Valencia. Temminck 

 says that M. Cantraine informed him that it is common in the Italian marshes, frequenting the 

 places where the Arundo speciosa grows. He found it in November near Rumbla, in the district 

 of Eagusa, at Ostia, and near Lake Castiglione, where it is very common. It frequents the 

 marshes and the bushes which skirt them, creeps about amongst the foliage, uttering a loud cry, 

 and descends towards the surface of the water, climbing on the aquatic plants ; and it may also 

 be seen perched on the rushes. M. Cantraine obtained males in Dalmatia in December, and in 

 the Papal States in November. Salvadori says that it occurs tolerably frequently in Sicily, near 

 Lentini and Mazzara, and is, according to Durazzo, of accidental occurrence in Liguria, according 

 to Perini near Venice ; but neither Cara, Hansmann, nor he (Salvadori) observed it in Sardinia ; 

 in the Turin Museum, however, is a specimen said to have been obtained there. I do not find 

 it recorded from Greece or Turkey in Europe ; but it probably occurs in Asia Minor, and Canon 

 Tristram obtained a single example in Palestine. It is found in North-east Africa ; and Captain 

 Shelley, who obtained it there, writes (B. of Egypt, p. 93) as follows : — " This Warbler, which is 

 very rare in collections, I found in great abundance among the thick sedge of a lake near 

 Damietta. They keep exclusively to the thick masses of reeds in very marshy districts, and 

 may be seen clinging on to the stems as they take a last peep at the intruder before hiding 

 themselves. They rarely show themselves boldly, but may be watched as they chase each other 

 through the thick and matted sedge, which is seen to move as though a mouse was disturbing 

 it. They creep and flutter along in pursuit of each other, occasionally uttering a little jarring 

 note." Mr. Blanford, who obtained it in Persia, and remarks that examples he obtained there 

 appear to differ in no respect from European specimens, writes as follows : — " Major St. John 

 found this bird in gardens. I met with it amongst high reeds in a marsh. It evidently breeds 

 on the Persian highlands in the spring ; but I only observed it in the southern part of the country, 

 perhaps because I had not opportunities for collecting in suitable localities farther north." 

 Mr. W. E. Brooks, C.E., was the first to discover the presence of this Warbler in India, and, as 

 recorded by Canon Tristram (Ibis, 1870, p. 301), sent a pair, shot near Etawah, to that gentleman. 

 Since then I have received many examples from Mr. Brooks, all obtained in the same locality ; 

 and Mr. A. O. Hume writes (Stray Feathers, i. p. 190) respecting its occurrence in Sindh as 

 follows: — " There are dunds, or inland lakes, in Sindh which, looked at even from their margin, 

 appear one waving field of herbage ; so dense, close, and even is the growth of a species of rush 

 throughout their whole extent. The fowlers and fishermen have cut through this rush many 

 little narrow channels, just sufficiently wide to admit the passage of a small canoe ; and along 

 these alone is it possible to progress at all satisfactorily. The rush rises from two feet six inches 



to three feet six inches above the surface of the water These meadow-like broads are the 



special haunt of the present species, as well as of the Marbled Duck. At best the Moustached 

 Warbler is not a very easy bird to secure ; rarely does he disport himself upon the tops of the 

 rushes. As a rule he threads his way rapidly from stem to stem about halfway up, only when 



