EUFOrS WAEBLEE.
AEDON GALACTODES (Temm.).
Sylvia galactodes, Temm. Man. cVOni. i. p. 182 (1820) ;
Naum. xiii. pp. 62, 398.
Aedon galactodes, Yarr. ed. 4, i. p. 355; Dresser, ii. p. 547.
Agrobate rubigineux, Bec-fin rubigineux, French; der rostfarbige
Sänger, German; Alzucola, Rubita, Vifiadera>
Spanish.
As far as I am able to discover, only two occurrences
of this beautiful Warbler have been recorded in our
country—one not far from Brighton in September 1854,
and another in the same month of 1859 near the Start
in S. Devon. My own acquaintance with the present
species is entirely confined to Greece and Spain; it is by
no means uncommon in Andalucia, haunting gardens
and vineyards, and though somewhat shy of observation,
sufficiently conspicuous from its well-known habit of
spreading and lifting the tail on alighting, thus showing
the remarkable white markings with which that appendage
is adorned.
The Rufous Warbler seems to find some special
attraction about the plants of prickly pear which are so
abundant in Andalucia; the nest is generally easy to
discover, seldom at any considerable height from the
ground, and generally ornamented by a piece of serpent s
or lizard’s skin either inside or on its outside edge. The
bird is very active in pursuit of its insect-food, and
combines certain characteristics of the Redbreast and
Redstart with those of the smaller Shrikes. The song is
very peculiar and not to be mistaken for that of any
other European Warbler.