LESSER WHITETHROAT
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
Throughout the Southern, Eastern and Midland Counties it is generally distributed and in parts of the home counties common, especially in Surrey, but westward it becomes scarce, and appears to visit Cornwall and the Scilly Islands on the autumn migration only. In the eastern parts of Wales it is by no means uncommon, but rare in the west, being confined in Carnarvonshire to the Conway Valley. In the lowlands of Brecknockshire and Montgomery it is sparingly distributed. To Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire it is a common summer visitant, but north of this it becomes scarce. Crossing the border we find it rare, though occurring in some of the southern and western counties. In the northern counties it is very rare, solitary instances only of its occurrence being recorded, except on migration, when it is a frequent visitor to Fair Island and an occasional one to some of the Western Isles.
From Ireland there are only two records, both during the autumn migration, one from Inistrahull Lighthouse and the other from Tearaght Light.
To the Channel Islands it is a regular, but by no means common summer visitor.
Throughout the greater part of Spain it appears to occur on passage only, and has not yet been found breeding even in districts north of the Cantabrian Mountains. Whether it has occurred in Portugal is doubtful.
In France it is generally distributed, and the same may be said of Holland, where it is common, and Germany, except in parts of Bavaria and Brandenburg, where it seems to be somewhat scarce. North of this we find it common in the eastern parts of Denmark, but not so numerous in Jutland, fairly abundant in the lower lying districts of Norway, and common in the central and southern provinces of Sweden, occurring up to 64° N. lat.
In Italy we find it in the northern parts only, but in Switzerland it appears to be generally distributed, though not
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