492 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



formed a conspicuous white spot on the stretch of moorland it 

 inhabited. It was probably a partly white variety, but it was 

 wild, and I could not get very close to it. 



Lleyn is thickly populated by small farmers, whose white 

 houses are scattered all over the country, most of which is cut up 

 into small fields. Inland we find hedges of blackthorn and haw- 

 thorn, hazel, rose, and honeysuckle ; but these are less frequent 

 as we go west, and west of the Rhiw hills, as well as in other 

 exposed parts of this windy country, the high stone and turf 

 banks which enclose the fields are topped with little more than 

 low gorse and bracken. Gorse, indeed — wide stretches of it — 

 is a great feature of Lleyn. The grounds of the country houses 

 are well planted, and there are many small woods and belts of 

 plantation ; so that, although the country is not an ideal one for 

 Warblers, there would be (except in the far west) sufficient 

 accommodation for them. The Robin is very common, but I did 

 not see a Redstart. The true Warblers, with one exception, are 

 remarkable for their scarcity or absence. The Whitethroat alone 

 is common. I never identified either the Blackcap, Garden 

 Warbler, or Lesser Whitethroat ; but Mr. Coward observed a 

 pair of the last named breeding at Abersoch in May, 1893. This 

 noisy bird, with which I am very familiar, must, however, be very 

 rare. Once I thought I heard the alarm-note of the Blackcap ; 

 but, if it is present, it must be scarce. In the course of an 

 afternoon's walk at Dolgelly, on my way home, I heard two in 

 song ; so that I do not think it would have been silent in Lleyn 

 during the time I was there, although the period of song of birds 

 does vary in different districts in Great Britain. The Wood- 

 Wren could be heard in several localities in oak and mixed wood, 

 at Cam Bodfean, Bodegroes, Llanbedrog, &c. The Chiffchaff 

 I noticed in five localities, but neither this bird nor the Willow- 

 Wren could be called abundant, although the latter was common, 

 and sang at all times in the day right through the latter half of 

 June (and at Dolgelly on July 3rd). The Sedge-Warbler is 

 common about the bogs and wetter marshes, and Mr. Coward has 

 noted the Grasshopper- Warbler in two years at Llanbedrog. I 

 did not consider the Hedge-Sparrow normally common, but this 

 bird, like some others, is more in evidence earlier in the year. 

 This remark applies especially to Tits, of which I only observed 



