The eggs are four or five, and rarely six in number; they are white or reddish white, spotted, particularly a 
the larger end, with brown, or blackish ash-coloured or blue mingled with yellow or light brown. During 
incubation the male continues in the neighbourhood, and cheers his mate with his song while flitting about 
from branch to branch. It is in the morning that he is principally seen, hunting with vivacity for his food, 
consisting of insects, caterpillars, chrysalides, young insects, the berries of the bay, elder, ivy, haws, &c., 
and (pieuching his thirst with the drops of dew attached to the leaves. The young are hatched on the 
16th day, and are fed by both parents with worms, little caterpillars, larvae, and small soft fruits. 
“The Orphean Warbler leaves Savoy at the same time asjhe Nightingale, and by the 20th of September 
only a few young birds, which, from some cause have been prevented from migrating, are to be met with.” 
Dr. Henry Giglioli notes, in ‘The Ibis’ for 1865, that “ Adopho?ieus curnica and A. orphea arrive in the 
neighbourhood of Pisa in April; and certainly the harsh and discordant song of the latter does not justify 
its specific denomination. The males of both have the habit of perching on the topmost branch of a tree, 
whence they fly up in the air uttering their short powerful song, while the females enjoy the concert, lurking 
in the grass beneath.” 
Mr. Howard Saunders informs us that this bird is abundant in Southern Spain during the spring, that it 
breeds there in May, and that about three nests out of five contain one egg, almost as large as that of the 
Woodchat, and also one rather smaller than the average. 
Lord Lllford says that “ it is occasionally seen in the Ionian Islands, but decidedly is not common at Corfu.” 
It also appears to be rare at Malta and Gozo ; for Mr. Wright ordy saw a single S])eeimen — one sent in 1858 
to Sir W. Jardlne by his son, who was serving in one of Her Majesty’s ships on that station. Schembri 
states that a few pass yearly in March, September, and October. 
Mr. Salvin states that “ in the Eastern Atlas this bird is tolerably common about the wooded hill-sides of 
Djendeli, where it usually breeds, though we sometimes obtained nests from the tamarisk trees in the plain. 
Its nest much resembles that of the common Blackcap (^Sylvia atricapUld), but differs in being more 
compact and thicker ; the position in the branch of the tree is usually similar. The note of this bird is 
pleasing, but hardly so much so as to entitle it to the name of the Orphean Warbler.”— 1859. 
“ Sylvia orphea^' says Mr. Tristram, “ is another summer visitant to Palestine, returning in the beginning 
of April, and affecting chiefly the groves and olive-yards of the northern part of the country. Near 
Banias, under Mount Hermon, it is especially abundant; and its note, with greater compass but not more 
sweetness than that of the Blackcap, resounds in the early morning and is continued at intervals throughout 
the day. The eggs are generally laid the first week in June, though we found some earlier.” — Ibis, 
1867, p. 85. 
Although the Orphean Warbler is said to frequent India, it is now supposed that the European and Indian 
birds are not identical, and certainly my specimen from the latter country is considerably larger, has a longer 
bill and less of the vinous tint on the chest and flanks; in a word, I consider that the bird I have figured 
and the one from Madras are specifically distinct : I therefore omit the synonym of Jerdoni from the above 
list. It is just possible, and I think likely, that our bird goes to Western India, and consequently that there 
are two species in that country. 
The male has the head to below the eyes and the ear-coverts slaty black ; upper surface pale brown 
washed with ashy on the back and upper tail-coverts ; wings and tail darker brown, the primaries and 
secondaries narrowly fringed with grey; the outer tail-feather on each side white on the exterior web, 
at the tip, and along the inner half of the interior web ; the shaft and the outer half of the interior web 
brown ; the remainder of the tail-feathers, except the two central ones, slightly tipped and narrowly edged 
on the apical portion of their inner w'ebs with white, the white tipping decreasing in extent as the feathers 
approach the central ones ; chin, throat, and under surface white suffused with a vinous tint, which becomes 
richer and more conspicuous on the flanks. 
The female has the head dark grey instead of black, which latter colour is only seen on the lores ; her upper 
surface has a slight reddish tinge ; and her wing-coverts are more broadly bordered than in the male. 
The young, on quitting the nest, resemble the female, hut are always somewhat redder on the upper 
surface ; after their moult, towards the end of August, the young males exhibit a little blackish grey on 
the head. 
I must not omit to record my obligations to Mr. Howard Saunders and Mr. H. E. Dresser for the loan 
of the specimens of C. orphea with which they have favoured me. 
The Plate represents the two sexes, of the natural size. 
