Richter's illustration of an adult male was drawn from life in the Zoological Society's Garden, Regent's Park. The male is shown by the nest singing, and a female is in the distance.

The three plants Rhododendron ferrugineum, Saxifraga oppositifolia, and a species of Cassula were 'taken from the sketchbook of Mr. Wolf, who made the drawings in the Alps.'

DISTRIBUTION: Breeds from Iberia and northwest Africa, through to southern Europe, north to Switzerland, eastwards to China and Mongolia. Winters Sahel zone of south Sahara to northeast Africa.
Rare vagrant to Britain, mostly in mid-April to June and a few in autumn