Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 8 of 9.djvu/12

 whitish grey, the claws having dark brown points, and the soles are yellowish. The sexes are alike in plumage.

The autumn plumage of both sexes differs from the spring plumage in being darker and slightly more olive green on the upper parts and richer buff on the under parts.

Nestling.—The general colour of the upper parts is very similar to that of the adult but rather more olive, a faint superciliary stripe being noticeable. The throat is whitish, upper breast and flanks olive brown, the latter being rather lighter and more buffish, abdomen pure white, and the under tail-coverts pure buff. The wings and tail differ but little as regards colour from those of the adult. The bill is lavender brown, flesh colour at the base, and the flanges bright yellow surrounded apparently by crimson, which is caused by the rich blood red colour of the inside of the mouth. Iris is dark greyish brown and the lores and region round the eye dark lavender. The feet are light lavender, and the front part of the tarsus and the upper part of the toes bluish.

Except in the west of Cornwall and the southern part of Cumberland, this bird seems to be a common breeding species in England. In Wales, however, there are a number of districts which it only visits rarely, such as west Pembrokeshire, the northern parts of Denbigh. Flint and Merioneth, and Anglesey and Carnarvon. In the south-western parts of Scotland, as well as in the Clyde and Forth areas and in Perthshire, it is apparently fairly common, but does not breed north of these limits. On migration it passes the Outer Hebrides, St. Kilda, Sule Skerry, the Shetlands, Orkneys and Fair Isle. To Ireland it is a regular but local visitor, breeding in Tipperary, Roscommon, Sligo, Fermanagh, Cavan, Waterford, Cork, Wexford, Queen's County, Monaghan, Down, and Antrim.

Throughout Spain and Portugal, France, Belgium and Holland it is generally distributed, but in Switzerland not