Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 4 of 9.djvu/52

 so common as the Whitethroat. In many of the southern parts of Europe it is scarce, Greece and Corfu being only visited on rare occasions. In Montenegro it appears to be rather more numerous, especially in the higher mountainous regions, and in Bulgaria it occurs on the islands in the Danube and near Kasanluk and Tirnova.

To many parts of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy it is a common visitor, and the same may be said of the Russian Empire. In Finland it is generally distributed, but more numerous in the southern parts, occurring as far north as Ijo. In the provinces bordering Finland it is scarce, but has been found in Olonetz and Archangel. Eastward of this it occurs in some numbers in the Province of Perm.

To Poland it is a common visitor except in the Province of Lublin, but in the Baltic Provinces it is not so numerous, and the same may be said of the Provinces of Novgorod, Pskov. Tver, and Jaroslav. In the Provinces of Moscow and Tula and in the district lying between the Rivers Oka and Volga it is again somewhat numerous. East of this it occurs sparingly in the Province of Kazan, but again becomes numerous in Orenburg. Whether it visits the Kirghiz Steppes seems doubtful, but on migration it occurs in Astrakhan. In the southern parts it is not plentiful, but visits the Provinces of Kiev and Khardov and has been found near Odessa.

To the Caucasus it is not an uncommon visitor, especially in the neighbourhood of Tiflis, Terek, Kuba, the eastern parts of Daghestan, and near Lenkoran.

There are records of its occurrence in Turkestan, the valley of the Yenisei, on the Persian Gulf, and it breeds commonly in Palestine.

In winter we find it principally in the northern and northeastern parts of Africa, but not as far south as the Whitethroat; Arabia and Persia are also visited at this season of the year.

In contrast to the Whitethroat there is considerable variation in the dates upon which the first males reach