84 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



was different on the back and tail, and the colour of the legs was 

 different. To quote Mr. Glanville's own words, he writes : 

 " What do you think of the Sedge with spots on the breast 

 (referring to an immature Sedge-Warbler sent with particularly 

 well-marked spots on the breast), also the one found dead 

 on the rock on the morning of the 9th, with head marked 

 different to the rest, also spots on back and tail different, and 

 legs and feet more flesh-coloured ? " Having dried the bird 

 and arranged its feathers, I was at once struck with the 

 difference in the plumage not only of the crown of the head but 

 of the rest of the upper parts, including the upper tail-coverts 

 and rectrices (long tail feathers). In this immature Aquatic 

 Warbler the markings of black and buff on the back are bolder 

 and more clearly defined than ,on the immature Sedge- Warbler. * 

 The buff is lighter and clearer, and the dark streaks more closely 

 approach a black shade than in the Sedge-Warbler. In the 

 latter the dark parts of the feathers are more mud-brown in 

 colour. With the feathers lying in their proper position the bold 

 striping of black and buff gives the back a somewhat " tiger-like " 

 pattern of plumage, which is not apparent in the plumage 

 markings of the Sedge-Warbler. In the Sedge-Warbler the buff 

 and brownish markings of the back become ill-defined, and in 

 some specimens the lower back feathers and upper tail-coverts 

 merge into a brownish monotone ; in the Aquatic Warbler the 

 striped pattern in these regions is well maintained though not 

 so boldly displayed as it is higher up on the back. In the 

 Sedge- Warbler all the rectrices are dusky in colour with a mere 

 thin trace of buff edgings ; in the Aquatic Warbler both webs of 

 the central pair of rectrices are broadly margined with buff, so 

 that the median clear dark streaks which extend the whole 

 length of the shaft are conspicuous ; the rectrices of the 

 Aquatic Warbler are also longer, narrower, and more acumi- 

 nate than those of the Sedge-Warbler. The wings, however, 

 of both species are remarkably alike f ; but the purity in 

 tone of the dark and buff markings is seen to advantage in 



* In the mature Sedge-Warblers, especially in nuptial garb, these 

 markings on the back are much less defined. 



f For this reason Sedge-Warblers should be sent entire for identification. 

 It is a bad practice to send a wing or a wing and a leg only. 



