Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 5 of 9.djvu/14

 though somewhat darker near the tip; mouth and tongue are orange yellow, the latter rather more red at the base, and the feet and toes lavender flesh colour.

The general colour of the female is similar to that of the male.

Adult Male, light variety.— I have given a figure of this bird, which I obtained in "Worcestershire, because the colouring is so similar to that of the Marsh Warbler. The colour is paler brown and less russet than the usual colour of the species, the flanks and under tail coverts being whitish buff instead of light russet buff, and the rump a slightly paler brown than the back.

Nestling.—The upper parts are rich brownish buff, wings slaty brown, the larger feathers being margined with the same colour as the back, and the throat and upper breast the same hue as the upper parts. The flanks are buff, abdomen whitish buff, under tail-coverts light buff with a slight tinge of russet, and the tail slaty brown. Iris is dark greyish brown and the eyelid slaty ash. The upper mandible is greyish lavender and the lower light lavender flesh. The colour of the mouth is similar to that of the adult. The legs are light lead colour, soles olive yellow, and claws olive grey.

Over the greater part of South and Central England it is generally distributed, but westward becomes scarce in North Devonshire, and rare in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. In Derbyshire it breeds in the Trent valley only, and it is found in parts of West Lancashire and East Yorkshire, but from West and North Yorkshire. Cumberland. Westmorland and Northumberland it is absent, and from Durham there is only one record. Across the Border it is almost unknown, the only record being one from Fair Isle. In North Wales it is local and rare except on the Shropshire border, and Anglesey does not appear to be visited. In Brecknock it is fairly plentiful. There is no authenticated record of its occurrence in Ireland.