BRITISH WARBLERS
centre, and this centre is most conspicuous on the crown and back, fainter on the long upper tail-coverts, and almost disappears on the back of the neck. The upper surface of the tail is of the same hue as the upper parts, but of a slightly darker brown, narrowly edged with lighter olive brown, and marked with faint transverse bars—the shaft of the feathers being dark reddish brown. The lores are olive grey, a superciliary streak, which disappears behind the eye, is a whitish olive yellow; cheeks and ear-coverts are darkish olive brown, with very indistinct light shaft stripes, and the side of the neck is the same colour as the upper parts but slightly lighter and unspotted. The wing-feathers are the same colour as the upper surface of the tail, broadly margined with the same colour as the back, and slightly reddish at the root of the outer primaries, forming an indistinct patch, but disappearing at the tip of the primaries and inner web of the secondaries. The throat is whitish buff, crop region buffish olive yellow, centre of breast and abdomen whitish, blending into whitish buff on the long under tail-coverts, the latter being furnished with a dark centre, which, however, does not reach to the tip of the feathers. The under surface of the tail is brownish grey, suffused with lavender grey. The sides of the breast and body are of the same colour as the back, but rather lighter and unspotted, though at the roots of the tail the feathers have dark but not very conspicuous centres.
Adult Male in Summer.—The upper parts are of an olive greyish green, very slightly tinged with yellowish umber, each feather having a dark brown centre, most conspicuous on the crown and back, but more indistinct on the nape and upper tail-coverts. The upper part of the tail is uniform, the olive umber being stronger, and the shafts a lavender brown. The wings are a dark greyish brown, but the broad margins of olive greyish green make the closed wing look almost uniform in colour; the first and second primary each have a whitish brown edge. There is an indistinct whitish ochre superciliary stripe disappearing behind the eye. The lores are greyish, sides of
2
