A c r o c e ph a l u s a r u n d in a c e u s (Linnaeus*).
THE GREAT REED-WARBLER.
Salicaria tnrdoidesf.
Acrocebhalus, J. A. N a um a n n i.—Bill more or less straight, with the cul-
men elevated, wide at the hase, compressed towards the tip, and slightly emar-
ginated ; the edges of the lower mandible inflected; nostrils basal, oblique,
oval and exposed. Forehead narrow and depressed. Wings rather sh o rt; the
first quill nearly abortive, the second commonly shorter than the third, which is
generally longest. Tail rounded and rather long. Legs long ; feet large and
stout, the hind toe strong ; claws long and moderately curved.
W e are indebted to Mr. Jolm Hancock for this addition to
British ornithology, announced by him in the * Annals and
* Turdus arundinaceus, Linna?us, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 296 (1766).
f Sylvia turdoideSf B. Meyer, Vögel Liv- und Estlilands, p. 116 (1815).
+ Naturgeschichte der Vögel Deutschlands. Nachtr. p. 201 (1819). This
reference is given on the authority of J. F. Naumann (Vög. Deutschi. Ed 2, iii.
p. 597), as the Editor has been unable to consult a perfect copy of the older work.
Magazine of Natural History ’ for August, 1847 (vol. xx.
p. 135), as follows :—
“ A male specimen of this fine Warbler was shot, three
or four miles west of Newcastle, near the village of Swal-
well, by Mr. Thomas Robson of that place, on the 28tli of
last May. The attention of this gentleman, who is perfectly
familiar with the song of all our summer-visitants, was
arrested by a note which he had not before heard ; and after
some search he succeeded in getting a sight of the bird. I t
was concealed in the thickest part of a garden hedge close to
an extensive mill-dam, which is bordered with willows, reeds
and other aquatic plants. I t would scarcely leave its retreat,
and when it did so never flew far, and always kept close to
the herbage.” This specimen, as Mr. Hancock has kindly
informed the Editor, is now in the possession of Mr. Thomas
Thompson of Winlaton, near the place where it was shot*.
According to Mr. Morris, who, however, has attributed the
foregoing as well as another reputed instance of the occurrence
of this species to the larger Nightingale of eastern
Europe, before mentioned (page 320), an example of the
present bird was killed, May 4tli, 1853, at a pondside near
Sittingbourne in Kent by Mr. G. Thomas.
Two other examples were said in the last Edition of this
work to have been also killed in Kent, one between Tonbridge
and Sevenoaks, the other at E rith ; and a third is stated
(Zool. p. 4014) to have been obtained June 16tli, 1853, at
Dagenham in Essex. All these came into the possession of
the late Mr. Green, a well-known dealer in birds and eggs,
but they were shewn when in the flesh to competent judges,
and there seems no reason to doubt their having been
specimens of the Great Reed-Warbler or Reed-Thrush,
to use its oldest English name. Mr. Gould, however, in
bis ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ utters a warning respecting
them which should not be neglected, stating that to his
* Mr. Newman (Zool. p. 3476) mentions, under tfie name of Sylvia tmdoides,
a bird, said to have been shot near Dartford, May 8th, 1852, which he examined
in a fresh state, but he has since stated (Diet. Brit. Birds, p. 374) some facts
rendering it probable that the specimen was so called by mistake.