. A history of British birds . rter than the fourth or fifthwhich nearly equal the third. The female has the head of nearly the same colour as theback and wants the rosy tint on the breast, while the othercolours are less pure. Young birds have a light-coloured space between the billand the eye; the irides are yellowish-brown, and the outertail-feathers tinged with rufous. This species, being the Motacilla sylvia of Linurcus,seems, in the absence of other means of determination,most proper to be regarded as the type of the genus Sylviainstituted by Scopoli and afterwards recognized by Lathajjj
. A history of British birds . rter than the fourth or fifthwhich nearly equal the third. The female has the head of nearly the same colour as theback and wants the rosy tint on the breast, while the othercolours are less pure. Young birds have a light-coloured space between the billand the eye; the irides are yellowish-brown, and the outertail-feathers tinged with rufous. This species, being the Motacilla sylvia of Linurcus,seems, in the absence of other means of determination,most proper to be regarded as the type of the genus Sylviainstituted by Scopoli and afterwards recognized by LathajjjpBy many authors the generic name Ciirruca has been used forthe birds of this group, but that course is clearly opposed toevery principle of priority. Very nearly allied to the GreaterWhitethroat is the South-European *S^. conspicillata. Onthe other hand the Indian S. ajfinis, which has been regardedas identical with the present bird, more nearly resembles thenext to be described. 3 G 410 PA SSEIiES. SY]>VllI)yE. S\jAiv ciRRtFCA (Linnnus^).THE LESSER WHITETHROAT. Curruca sylviellaf. This pretty Warbler was first discovered in this countryby Lio-htfoot, who, as ah-eady mentioned, first recognized theReed-Wren : he found it near ]5uIstrode in Buckingham-shire and sent specimens to Latham, who, in 1787, gave adescription and bad figure of it in the Supplement to hisGeneral Synopsis of Birds (i. p. 185, pi. cxiii.). ThisWarbler visits many parts of England every year, commonlyarriving about the middle of April, but is said to have beennoticed in Cornwall as early as March, and it has been obtainedin this country so late as the second week of October. Inmany of its habits it closely resembles the preceding species,but is inferior to it as a songster. It frequents high and thick * Motacilla curruca, Linnseus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. j). 329 (1760).t Sylvia sylviella, Latham, Ind. Orn. ii. p. 515 (1790). LESSER WHITETHROAT. 411 hedges, shrubberies, orchards and gardens, a
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsaun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds
