66 
British Birds. 
Warblers. Savi’s Warbler, however, is of 
a much darker brown colour than any of 
the last-named birds, and may be dis- 
tinguished by the vinous brown colour 
of the sides of the body. It is an 
inhabitant of the marshy districts of 
central and southern Europe, as far east 
as central Asia, but is only found in 
certain favourite haunts, and is every- 
where very local. The song is described 
as a monotonous whirr, and is heard all 
day from the reed-beds frequented by the 
species, which may be seen climbing up savi’s Warbler . 
the reeds in pursuit of its insect-food. 
The nest is made of dead rushes and Hags, with a little moss, but with no lining 
beyond a few twisted reeds : it is a well-made and rather deep cup, and is 
placed in a tuft of spiky grass or on a platform of broken reeds. The eggs 
are from four to six in number, the ground-colour being brownish-white, with 
numerous spots of light brown and violet-grey, generally collecting round tbe 
larger end of the egg. 
This family of birds is closely allied to the preceding 
THE THRESHES. one, but the front aspect of the tarsus is never divided 
by scales or cross-lines, being smooth throughout. All 
the Thrushes have spotted young ones, and they only 
moult once in the year, in the autumn, but do not have a second moult in 
the spring like the Warblers. 
This species, named in honour ot Gilbert White of 
WHITE’S Selborne, is an inhabitant of Eastern Siberia and win- 
ters in China and the Philippine Islands. On its 
THRUSH. 
(Orcocichla varia. 
migration it not unfrequently wanders into Europe, and 
has occurred in most of the countries on the Continent, and has been met 
with many times in Heligoland, whilst at least a dozen British captures 
have been recorded. It is an unmistakable species, having the upper surface 
profusely spangled with golden-buff spots, and black crescent-shaped spots on 
the fore-neck, breast and sides of the body ; on the under side of the wing 
there is a very conspicuous patch of white, forming a pale lining across the 
base of the quills. 
In habits, White’s Thrush appears to be a shy and skulking species, feeding 
on the ground in damp places and among dead leaves under trees, but little has 
been recorded of its ways, and it is doubtful whether the nest and eggs are 
really authentically known. 
