[2 



4 



to it, but could see nothing moving, and waited several minutes, but did not hear the song again ; 

 nor did any bird fly out, though I kicked the bush. I was sure I had made no mistake, and 

 withdrew to the path, waiting for some fresh sign of the presence of the bird, when suddenly, 

 scarcely a pace from me, I heard again zitt, ziwitt, ziwoit, ziwoit, and a small brown bird slipped 

 out of the thicket and disappeared again at once. This occurred again and again, first from 

 one and then from the other side, but always from just the opposite direction to where I 

 expected it, completely upsetting my calculations." I am indebted to Lord Lilford for the 

 following notes respecting the present species: — "I have found this species in almost all the 

 parts of Southern and Eastern Europe which 1 have visited, and have devoted a good deal of 

 time and attention to its habits. In Spain it is a common bird, in New Castile, especially in 

 the neighbourhood of Madrid, in the grounds of the Casa de Campo, and el Pardo, in the 

 former of which localities I had a narrow escape of bagging a very different species of biped 

 whilst watching a pair of these interesting little birds, as recorded in ' The Ibis.' I always found 

 this Warbler in the close vicinity of water, though by no means invariably in marshy ground ; 

 in fact I have frequently seen and heard it amongst the tamarisks, brambles, &c. which fringe 

 the stony torrents of Northern Italy. Very abundant on the banks of the Guadalquivir, where I 

 believe it to be a permanent resident ; at all events, I have met with it in that locality from the 

 middle of February till the beginning of June. Common in the island of Sardinia, my experi- 

 ence there differing from that of Count Salvadori, who says that he did not meet with it on the 

 banks of the lagoons or in marshes (Fauna d'ltalia, Uccelli, p. 118), in which spots I have often 

 met with it, as well as on the banks of running streams, as recorded by him loc. sujar. cit. In 

 Corsica I found it common in the marshes near Bastia, in January 1875 ; and in Sicily it is very 

 abundant in the marshes of the eastern coast. In Corfu it occurs in April, but is not very 

 abundant ; on the opposite mainland of Epirus I have met with it plentifully at all seasons of 

 the year. I found it in March near Suda Bay, in Crete ; and it was common in those parts of 

 Cyprus which we visited in April and May 1875. I can add nothing to the excellent account 

 of the habits of this species by Colonel Irby in his recent work on the ornithology of the 

 Straits of Gibraltar, which exactly tallies with my own observations. As I write I have before 

 me five nests of this species taken near Malaga in the latter part of May and the first week of 

 June 1874, three of which contained four, and the others three eggs respectively: all the nests 

 agree pretty closely with Colonel Irby's description loc. supr. cit. ; but in the very few instances 

 in which I have myself found the nests of this bird, they were on or very close to the ground ; 

 and in the instance mentioned, in the Casa-de-Campo grounds, near Madrid, dead leaves 

 entered largely into the outside framework of the nest. The note of Cetti's Warbler is quite 

 unmistakable, and when once heard not easily forgotten. I have no knowledge of music, and 

 will, therefore, not attempt to describe or imitate the thrill in letters." Mr. Seebohm also, 

 who has met with the present species in Greece and Asia Minor, sends me the following notes, 

 viz. : — " Cetti's Warbler is by no means uncommon both in Greece and Asia Minor. It is an 

 extremely shy bird, frequenting the thickest underwood, and is rarely seen during the the day- 

 time ; but its song is so loud and rich that there is no danger of its being overlooked. At 

 Nymphion, east of Smyrna, this bird was very partial to the cherry-orchards near the village. 

 The stream coming down from the mountains is diverted from its course into an elaborate 



