16 



BABILLARD. 



Latham lias made no less than three species of it, by following-, as 

 usual, the blunders in Gmelin's Linnaeus ; while Buffon, erring in a 

 different way, gives a heterogeneous description of the chiff-chaff, the 

 white-throat, and the hay -bird, (Sylvia trochilus), as well as our 

 Babillard, for the same species, confounding the several descriptions 

 of Belon, Aldrovand, Olina, and Schwenckfeld, though all so very 

 distinct to those who know the birds, as Montagu clearly did.* 



This species was first noticed as a native by Mr. Lightfoot in Buck- 

 inghamshire, and communicated to Dr. Latham, who first gave it to 

 the world as a British species in the Supplement to his Synopsis. 



It is less than the white-throat ; length five inches and a quarter ; 

 weight about three drams and a quarter. The bill is dusky ; irides 

 yellowish, with a dash of pearl-colour. The upper part of the head, 

 taking in the eyes, is a dark ash-colour ; all the other parts above 

 cinereous-brown ; quills and tails dusky, edged with ash-colour ; the 

 exterior feather of the tail whitish almost to the base ; the outer web 

 quite white ; from throat to vent, including the under tail coverts, 

 silvery white ; legs dusky lead-colour. 



This and the white-throat have doubtless been confounded ; nor 

 is it easy to determine which of them is the Sylvia of Linnaeus. The 

 great distinction between this and the white-throat and its varieties is, 

 that this is inferior in size ; the bill is shorter, the under as well as 

 upper mandible is dusky ; the legs darker ; the whole under parts of 

 the plumage much whiter ; and the upper parts do not possess the least 

 appearance of rufous-brown, which in the other is more or less invari- 

 ably found, especially on the wing coverts. * I may add to this that the 

 leaden or greyish blue colour of this bird was remarked by Belon two 

 centuries ago. The whole breast and belly, as well as the throat, are 

 nearly snow white, while only the throat is greyish white in the white- 

 throat, whose legs are yellowish, in living birds. The legs of the 

 Babillard are greyish black or deep lead colour. The haunts and 

 manners of the two birds are also different ; for while the white- 

 throat frequents the tangled hedge-row, the green lane, and the bram- 

 ble copse, the Babillard prefers a garden, an orchard, or a plantation of 

 gooseberry or currant bushes, whence it is a frequent inhabitant of 

 market gardens near London. The Babillard is also somewhat more 

 shy and wary of showing itself, like the blackcap and the fauvette, 

 (Sylvia hortensis), which haunt the same localities. Both are cheer- 

 ful, spirited, and restless ; but the incessant warbling of the species 

 under notice, has obtained it the continental name which we have 

 adopted.* 



