The SARDINIAN FIRE-EYED BLACK-HEAD (_Pyropthalma sarda_), as its name
implies, is a native of Sardinia; it is likewise met with in Malta,
Greece, and the neighbouring islands, also, according to Homeyer, upon
the Balearic Islands. In this species the head, nape, and back are
blackish grey, lightly tinted with red; the under side is pale grey, the
throat whitish; the quills and tail-feathers are brownish black edged
with reddish grey, except the two exterior tail-feathers, which are
bordered with white on the outer web. The eye is nut brown, the bare
eyelid yellowish pink, and the beak black, except at the yellow base of
the lower mandible; the foot is light grey. The colours of the female
are somewhat paler. Salvatori tells us that this interesting Warbler
is one of the commonest birds in Sardinia, and that it frequents all
parts of the country, whether mountain or plain, provided the ground
is covered with bushes or heather. Homeyer speaks in the same terms of
such as inhabit the Balearic Isles, and tells us that their movements
closely resemble those of mice, as they scurry over the ground from
stone to stone and shrub to shrub; now running into a hole, now closely
examining every little twig of a bush, with a rapidity and dexterity far
exceeding even that of the Wren. During the whole time the bird is in
motion the tail is brandished aloft with most grotesque effect. The voice
much resembles that of a male Canary in some of its notes, while others
are like the sound of a tiny bell; the call-note is exactly similar
to that of the Redbacked Shrike. The nest is placed in thick bushes,
and is formed of grass, lined with horsehair and a few feathers; the
interior is deep, and the walls very thin. The four or five eggs have a
greenish-white shell, clouded with yellowish green, or marked with spots
of various shades and with black streaks; in size they resemble those
of the Goldfinch. The plumage of the young is like that of the parents,
except that the head is paler, and the eyelid only slightly touched with
red. Three broods are produced within the year, the first being laid in
August. This species does not migrate.