1 - ' r A * X *al A,* Wfit i^^S THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID M367786 18/8.] MR. H. SEEBOHM ON SYLVIA BLANFORDI. 9/8 [From the PROCEEDINGS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, Decembers, 1878.] On a new Species of Sylvia from Abyssinia, and on some other Abyssinian Sylvians. By HENRY SEEBOHM, F.Z.S. The only species of the genus Sylvia obtained by Jesse on the Abyssinian expedition, was the common Whitethroat. This species was also obtained by Blanford ; and in addition he records (Geol. and 9/9 MR. H. SEEBOHM ON SYLVIA BLANFORDI. [Dec. 3, Zool. of Abyss, p. 379) a single specimen of Sylvia melanocephala, Gm., shot at Rairo in Habab. We learn from the personal narrative that 'Blanford was at Rairo between the 10th and loth of August The skin, doubtless obtained between these two dates, is in the British Museum, and appears to me to belong to a hitherto unde- scribed species, which I propose to call SYLVIA BLANFORDI. The general colour of the upper parts is brown, the innermost secondaries, the quills, and the wing-coverts being narrowly margined with brownish white. The cheeks, head, and nape are brownish black. The tail is very dark brown, the outside tail- feathers (which are much abraded) showing traces of having been tipped with white. The general colour of the underparts is white, shading into brown on the sides of the breast, flanks, axillaries, and under tail-coverts. The bastard primary projects *3 inch beyond the primary-coverts ; and the second primary is between the eighth and ninth in length. The bird is moulting some of the primaries between the third and the eighth. Both mandibles of the bill are dark, and the tarsus and feet are dark slate-grey. The wing measures 2'52, and the tail 2'62. The culmen, which is slightly injured, measures about '5 1 when perfect. The only species with which this bird can be confounded are S. curruca (Linn.), S. melanocephala, Gm., and S. rubescens, Blanf. From S. curruca it is easily distinguished by its head being brownish black instead of pale slate-grey, and by its tail being longer instead of shorter, than its wing. From S. melanocephala it may be dis- tinguished by the length of wing being 2'52, instead of varying from 2-15 to 2-35, and the colour of the tarsus and feet being dark slate- grey instead of brown. Besides being a larger bird with darker feet, it has a larger bastard primary, a shorter second primary, and has less white on the outside tail-feathers. From S. rubescens it may be distinguished by its tail being longer, instead of shorter, than the wing, by its feet being dark slate-grey instead of palish brown, and by its larger size, the less amount of white on the outside feathers of its tail, its longer bastard primary, and more rounded wing. Sylvia blanfordi appears to be quite distinct from any of the birds described by Riippell in his ' Neue, Wirbelth. Abyss.', or by Heuglin in his 'Orn. Nordost-Afrika's/and also from the types of Hemprich and Ehrenberg, in the Berlin Museum, described by Dresser and Blanford in the Ibis (1874, p. 335). Another error of identification in Blanford's 'Abyssinia* will be found on page 358. The skin from Senape in the British Museum, labelled Ruticilla phcenicura, Linn., does not belong to that bird, but to the nearly allied species Euticilla mesoleuca, Ehr. I have also exa- mined the Pratincoles from the Abyssinian collection in the British Museum ; and Mr. Sharpe has pointed out to me that Pratincola semitorquata, Heugl., is undoubtedly the breeding-plumage of P. albofasciata, Riipp., and that Blanford's skins labelled Pratincola [2] 1878.] MR. H. SEEBOHM ON SYLVIA BLANFORDI. 980 pastor, Strickland, are undoubtedly P. indica, Blyth. This species, distinguished, amongst other characters, from P. rubicola (Linn.), by its pure white unspotted rump, and its almost entirely black axil- laries, was first discovered in Europe by Harvie-Brown and myself in the valley of the Petchora ; Drs. Finsch and Brehm found it on the Obb; and I brought home several skins from the Yenesay. Although Severtzoff records both species from Turkestan, there can he scarcely any doubt that Pallas's birds from the Irtish and the Tobol belong to the eastern species, which must therefore stand as Pratincola maura, Pall. (Reise Russ, Reichs, ii. p. 708). [3] 1878.] MR. H. SEEBOHM ON HORORNIS FORTIPES, ETC. 980 [From the PROCEEDINGS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, December 3, 1878.] On the Identity of Horornis fortipes, Hodgs., Neornis assimilis, Gray, Horeites robustipes, Swinhoe, Horeiles pallidus, Brooks, and Horeites brunnescens, Hume. By HENRY SEEBOHM, F.Z.S. CETTIA FORTIPES (Hodgson). Salicaria ?, Hodgson, icon. ined. nos. 900 & 928. Horornis fortipes, Hodgson, J. A. S. Beng. xiv. p. 584 (1845). Drymceca brevicaudata, Blyth, J. A.S. Beng. xvi. p. 459 (1847). Horornis assimilis, Gray, Cat. Mamm. &c. Nepal coll. Hodgson, p. 30, no. 143 (1863, ex Hodgson). Horeites robustipes, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1866, p. 398. Neornis assimilis, Gray, Hand-list of Birds, no. 3006 (1869). Horeites pallidus, Brooks, J. A. S. Beng. xli. p. 78 (1872). Horeites brunnescens, Hume, Ibis, 1872, p. 109. An examination of tbirty-two skins of Horornis fortipes, Hodgson, H. assimilis, Gray, Horeites robustipes, Swinhoe, and Horeites pal- lidus, Brooks, leads me to the conclusion that they all belong to one species. They agree in having the general colour of the upper parts russet (not olive) brown, somewhat yellower on the rump. The wings are brown, fringed externally with russet-brown, and margined inter- nally with white. The tail is brown, fringed with russet-brown. An indistinct eyebrow and the underparts are huffish white, shading into ochraceous brown on the flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts. Axillaries and under wing-coverts pale yellow. Young birds have the underparts yellower. The bill is moderately stout, dark horn- colour above, pale horn-colour below, but darker towards the tip. Rictal bristles slender. The wing is very rounded, the first primary rather more than half the length of the second, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh are nearly equal and longest. The tail consists of ten feathers only, and is rounded, its outside feathers being about 0'45 inch shorter than the longest. The foot and tarsus are robust, pale brown in colour ; and the latter is very indistinctly scutellated in front. The length of wing varies in adults from 1*9 to 2*28, the tail being about one-twentieth shorter. The culmen measures about 0'5. 981 MR. H. SEEBOHM ON HORORNIS FORTIPES, ETC. [Dec. 3, Brooks obtained this species in Cashmere ; Mandelli has sent skins from Darjeeling ; Hodgson found it in Nepal, and Godwin- Austen in Assam. Swinhoe's type from Formosa seems less remotely situated when we remember that Pere David obtained the nearly allied species (Horeites major and H. brunneifrons) in China, where the species under consideration doubtless also occurs. I place this species in the genus Cettia, because it agrees with the type of that genus in having only ten tail-feathers, somewhat simi- larly graduated, and because both species have a somewhat similar bill, and a rounded wing, not flat like that of a Thrush, but twisted like a plough-plate to fit the body, evidently adapted less for extended flight than to be out of the way when the bird is creeping through dense foliage. Both species agree in having the feathers of the rump considerably developed, and in laying eggs of a uniform dark- red colour in a cup-shaped nest. The position of this genus is somewhat intermediate between the Turdina and the Timeliince. So far as I can see at present, I feet disposed to restrict the Turdince to birds with a comparatively flal wing, in which the first primary is almost obsolete, whilst the second is lengthened with the other primaries, forming a long pointed wing, adapted for the extended flight of species whose winter-home may be thousands of miles away from their breeding-stations. This scheme would include the Chats, Thrushes, Redstarts, Warblers, and Accentors in the Turdince, and leave the short-winged Warblers, such as Prinia, Cisticola, &c., to take their place along with the Babblers and Bulbuls in the Timeliince. This latter group of birds is characterized by having strong legs and feet, adapted for creeping through tangled foliage, whilst their wings, instead of being flat, are moulded to fit the body of the bird and to occupy as little room as possible. The conformation of the wing is ill-adapted to extended flight. The first primary is large and takes its place naturally beside the shortened second primary, so that it no longer deserves to be called a bastard primary. The other primaries are also short and graduated in length, making a short rounded wing, sufficient for birds whose annual migrations are confined to such narrow limits that they can often look down from the mountains where they breed onto the plain or into the valleys, where they find an abundant supply of winter food. It must be admitted, however, that in many genera of the Tur- dince we find approaches to the Timeliince, so as to make the two subfamilies not only to come into contact with each other but some- times to overlap, so that we may have occasionally a turdine species of the Timeliince more turdine than the most timeliine species of the Turdince. These little difficulties are very puzzling to the systematic ornithologist ; but possibly they may be evidence that his system is a natural one rather than otherwise. The following list of skins examined will show how impossible it is to draw any distinction in respect of size between the four reputed species which I propose to unite : PROC. ZOOL. Soc. 1878, No. LXIV. 64 [2] 18/8.] MR. H.SEEBOUM ON UORORNIS FORTIPES, ETC. 982 Length of wing. in. 2-28 Sikkim. G. Austen. Horornis fortipes. 2-24 Naga lulls. j? Neornis assimiiisc^. 2-2 Sikkim. Brooks. Horornis fortipes. 2-2 Darjeeling. Hume. Horeites brunnescens. 2-2 Nepal. Hodgson. Neornis assimilis. 2-2 Naga hills. G. Austen. ? 2-18 Shillong. n 2-18 Nepal. Hodgson. j) 2-15 Darjeeling. Brooks. Horeites pallidus. 2-15 Khasa. G. Austen. Neornis assimilis. 2-14 Sikkim. Horornis fortipes. 2-14 Shillong. n Neornis assimilis rf . 2-14 Cashmere. Brooks. Horeites pallidus. 2-13 Shillong. G. Austen. Neornis assimilis $ . 2-13 2-11 Darjeeling. Nepal. Blyth. Hodgson. Drymoeca brevicaudata. Neornis assimilis. 2-11 jj }) 91 2-1 }J n M 2-1 n 2-1 Shillong. G. Austen. c?. 2-07 Naga hills. it ? 2-05 Munipur i> 2-0 2-0 Formosa. Nepal Swinhoe. Hodgson. Horeites robustipes. Neornis assimilis, juv. 196 }t >} it 1-95 n ri Neornis assimilis. 1-95 Khasi. G. Austen. 1-9 Formosa. Swinhoe. Horeites robustipes. 1-9 1-9 Darjeeling. Nepal. Brooks. Hodgson. Horeites pallidus. Neornis assimilis, juv. 1-88 1-88 ft 1-81 n n [3] 18/9.] ON BIRDS FROM THE ATRECK VALLEY. 764 Mr. Seebohm exhibited a small collection of birds made by Capt. the Hon. G. C. Napier in the valley of the Atreck river which flows into the Caspian Sea not far north of Asterabad, and forms the boundary line between Russia and Persia. The species were as follows : Falco cenchris, Cuv. Coracias ffarrulus, Linn. Pratincola caprata, Linn. [This species has not hitherto been found further west than Baluchistan, though it ranges eastward as far as the islands of the Malay archipelago. H. S.~\ Ember iza luteola, Lath. [Not hitherto found west of Turke- stan.] Emberiza hortulana, Linn. ( $ ). Hypolais caligata, Licht. Cypselus melba (Linn.). Shot on 12th April, flying in company with the Common Swift, at 3000 feet elevation. Pterocles alchata (Linn.) Shot near Teheran, 26th September, at 4800 feet elevation. Glareola pratincola (Linn.). Shot 10th May. Botaurus stellaris (Linn.). CEdicnemus scolopax (Gmel.). Shot 26th April at 3000 feet elevation. Plegadis falcAnellus (Linn.). Shot 26th May. Phalaropus hyperboreus, Linn. Shot 25th May. [Doubtless on migration towards its breeding-grounds in the valley of the Petchora, where it arrives during the first or second week of June. H. S.~] [From the PROCEEDINGS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, December 16, 1879.] 1879.] MR, H. SEEBOHM ON SOME ASIATIC THRUSHES. 803 [From the PROCEEDINGS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, December 16, 1879.] ON CERTAIN OBSCURE SPECIES OF SIBEEIAN, INDIAN, AND CHINESE THEUSHES. BY HENRY SEEBOHM. (Plate LXIV.) In the year 1833 Tickell described (J. A. S. Beng. ii. p. 577) a Thrush from India under the name of Turdus unicolor. In 1837 Gould described the same species (P. Z. S. v. p. 136), and, curiously enough, gave it the same name. In 1842 Blyth, apparently thinking it impossible that an accidental coincidence of name could be accom- 804 MR. H. SEEBOHM ON SOME ASIATIC THRUSHES. [Dec. I 6, panied by a real coincidence of species, proposed (J. A. S. Beng. xi. p. 460) the name of Turdus modestus as a substitute for Turdus unicolor, "Gould, nee Tickell" apud Blytb. In 1847 Blyth discovered that he had fallen into precisely the same blunder that he had tried to correct in Gould ; for the name T. modestus had already been ap- plied by Eyton, in 1839 (P. Z. S. vii. p. 103), to a different species of Thrush. Blyth accordingly proceeded (J. A. S. Beng. xvi. p. 144) to give a third name, Geocichla dissimilis, to this species. In doing so, however, he further complicated the question by adding to his new name the description of the immature male or female of anew species which he erroneously imagined to be the adult male of T. unicolor, Gould. In 1850 Bonaparte described what he considered to be a new species of Thrush from a skin in the Leyden Museum labelled " Central Asia." He gave it (Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 273) the name of Turdus pelios, but afterwards, in 1854 (Compt. Rend, xxxviii. p. 5), carelessly identified an Abyssinian Thrush (Turdus icterorhynchus, Pr. Wiirt.) with his description of P. pelios, and needlessly threw doubt on the correctness of the Leyden locality. The skin in the Leyden Museum is undistinguishable from the female or immature male which Blyth described as T. dissimilis. After a lapse of twelve years Jerdon, in his ' Birds of India,' further complicated matters by erroneously identifying T. dissimilis (Blyth) with T. cardis, Temm., including it in his work (i. p. 521) as Tur- dulus cardis (Temm.). The following year Sclater described (Ibis, 1863, p. 196) a new species of Thrush from Amoy as Turdus hortulorum, the male (doubtless immature) and female of which are undistinguishable from T. dissimilis (Blyth). Seven years later Cabanis received a Thrush from Dr. Dybowsky, collected in the valley of the Avnoor (likewise undistinguishable from T. dissimilis (Blyth), and identified it with T. pelios, Bonap., point- ing out (Journ. Orn. 1870, p. 238) the error into which Bonaparte afterwards fell. Further complications now followed thick and fast. In 1871 Hume described a new Thrush from Assam (Ibis, p. 411) as Geo- cichla tricolor. In 1873 Swinhoe described a new Thrush from Cheefoo (Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. 4, vol. xii. p. 374) as Turdus camp- be.lli. In the following year, forgetting that he had described it in the 'Annals,' he redescribed the same skin in 'The Ibis' (1874, p. 444, pi. xiv.) as Turdus chrysopleurus. My first attempt to unravel this complicated tangle of facts was to draw the inference that whereas in the nearly allied species T. cardis, Temm., T. obscurus, Gmel., T. pallidus, Gmel., and T. unicolor, Tick., the females and immature males have streaks or spots on the throat, which disappear in the fully adult male, it was highly probable that the fully adult male of T. dissimilis, Blyth, would also have an unspotted throat. Having arrived at this con- clusion, it was an easy step to identify T. campbelli, Swinh., or T. tricolor (Hume), as the fully adult male. Hume's description 1871K] MR. H. SEEBOHM ON SOME ASIATIC THRUSHES. 805 was that of a somewhat darker bird than Swinhoe's type ; but finding in the Museum at Philadelphia a second skin agreeing precisely with the latter (obtained, I was informed, by the Perry Expedition to Japan), I cut the Gordian knot by assuming Swinhoe's bird to be the normal adult male and Hume's to be a partially melanistic form not uncommon among Thrushes. Since then the return of Mr. Wardlaw Ramsay from Afghanistan has placed the Tweeddale collection within reach ; and I find in it the ski a of a Thrush from Assam (which I pro- pose to be figured as an illustration to this paper) which apparently agrees with Hume's description of G. tricolor ; and I also hear that Captain Elwes possesses two skins from the same locality. These facts have obliged me to alter my opinion as to the identity of the Indian with the Chinese specimen. I am now inclined to identify Hume's bird as the fully adult male of T. dissimilis (Blyth). Both Hume's type and the skins in the Tweeddale collection were shot in Assam ; and in 'The Ibis' for 1872 (p. 136, pi. vii.) is an excellent figure of the immature male or female of T. dissimilis (Blyth), the original of which was shot by Colonel Godwin-Austen in the same locality. The two species will therefore stand as follows : TURDUS DISSIMILIS (Blyth). (Plate LXIV.) Geocichla dissimilis, Blyth, J. A. S. Beng. 1847, p. 144. Turdulus cardis (Temm.), apud Jerdon, B. India, i. p. 521 (1862). Geocichla tricolor, Hume, Ibis, 1871, p. 411. Adult male with the entire head, neck, and throat dark slate-grey, nearly black, shading into paler slate-grey on the rest of the upper parts. Axillaries, under wing-coverts, sides of the breast, and upper portion of the flanks brilliant orange-chestnut, shading into brown on the lower portion of the flanks, and into white on the centre of the breast, belly, and under tail-coverts. Female and immature male. Upper parts differing from the adult male in being pale slate-grey suffused with russet-brown on the forehead, and with olive-brown on the centre of the back. Throat nearly white in the centre, the feathers on the sides of throat and chest having dark-brown fan-shaped terminal spots. Rest of the plumage similar to that of the adult male. Hab. Assam, occasionally straying westward as far as Calcutta. TURDUS HORTULORUM, Sclater. Turdus pelios, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 273 (1850, nee plur. auct.)?. Turdus hortulorum, Sclater, Ibis, 1863, p. 196. Turdus campbelli, Swinhoe, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1873, xii. p. 374. Turdus chrysopleurus, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 444. Until a fully adult male has been obtained from Southern Siberia, we can never be absolutely sure to which of the two species Bona- parte's name properly belongs ; but the bird from the Amoor is more likely to be identical with one from China than with one from Assam. According to the new-fashioned system adopted by the 806 MR. H. SEEBOHM ON SOME ASIATIC THRUSHES. [Dec. 16. extreme Ritualist party in ornithology, who attempt to carry out the Stricklandian code regardless of consequences, Bonaparte's name would hang in terror em over Sclater's, to be substituted for it as soon as it could be proved that it certainly referred to the same species; or, following the practice of the blindest followers of this unfortunate innovation, Bonaparte's name would at once be given the benefit of the doubt, regardless of the fact that it had been extensively applied to a diifertne species. I cannot for a moment lend myself to such ornithological immorality, and must look upon Bonaparte's name as one tainted for ever, and debarred for the future from being used for any species of Thrush. In the fully adult male of T. hortulorum, Sclater, the general colour of the upper parts is a dull slate-grey, shading on the sides of the neck into a very pale slate-grey on the throat and chest. The axillaries, under wing-coverts, and flanks are brilliant orange-chest- nut, shading into white on the centre of the belly and under tail- coverts. The female and immature male are undistinguishable from those of T. dissimilis (Blyth). [4] of the Genus Setophaga. 321 and fro. Subsequently our Indian hunters used not unfre- quently to bring us specimens from the same district ; but nowhere else did we meet with it, nor am I aware that spe- cimens are ever included in the large collections sent home from time to time from Vera Paz. Many species of various genera have from time to time been placed in the genus Setophaga, but have since been relegated to their proper systematic positions ; so that I need not refer to them here. One species, however, calls for remark ; and that is Setophaga multicolor, briefly described by Bonaparte in his ' Conspectus Avium' (i. p. 312), from a specimen in the Senckenberg Museum said to be from Mexico. It must be observed that Bonaparte adopts with doubt Gmelm's name, Motacilla multicolor, for D'Aubenton's { Figuier noir etjaune de Cayenne' (PL Enl. 391. f. 2) an older title for which is Motacilla tricolor a, Mull. (Natursyst. Suppl. p. 175). Judg- ing from the figure, I should think it intended to represent Setophaga ruticilla, a species already traced to British Guiana. Bonaparte's diagnosis, however, hardly suits this figure, but answers very well to Gmelin's description of his Muscicapa multicolor (Syst. Nat. i. p. 944), founded on the Re*d-bellied Flycatcher of Latham, a bird now known as Petrceca multi- color, and which comes from Australia. In the absence of all trace of a species of Setophaga in Mexico answering to Bonaparte's diagnosis, I am inclined to think that he took his characters from a specimen of Petrceca multicolor to which a wrong locality had been attached. In conclusion, I beg leave to express my thanks to Mr. Thomas Moore and the authorities of the Derby Museum of Liverpool, and also to Professor Peters of Berlin, for the loan of specimens which have helped me most materially in working out the synonymy of this genus. SER. iv. VOL. ii. 322 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. XXIII. Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. By HENRY SEEBOHM. [Continued from p. 184.] (Plate IX.) THE following notes on the birds of Siberia are of course extremely fragmentary. It is very seldom that the first ex- pedition to a strange land is successful. The pioneer can do little more than discover the localities where future researches may be successfully made. My great mistake was that I wintered too far north. Had I waited the arrival of migra- tory birds at Yen-e-saisk', instead of on the Arctic circle, my ornithological bag would have been increased fourfold in value. My list is almost as remarkable for what it omits as for what it includes. There is no doubt that the Merlin is common in the valley of the Yen-e-say'; and a little further south, most likely they would have been found chasing the Snow-Buntings. I was probably only just beyond the northern range of the Siberian Jay. On my return journey my time was neces- sarily very limited, and I was obliged to husband my ammu- nition. It was also the most unfavourable time of the whole year for making ornithological observations. During the breeding-season many birds forsake the neighbourhood of the villages and the cultivated land, and scatter themselves through the forests ; and whilst they are moulting in the autumn, they seem to be fully aware that their powers of flight are limited, and that consequently they are an easy prey to their Raptorial enemies, and therefore they seem afraid to trust themselves on the wing. For the most part they are silent at this season, and skulk amongst the underwood, and it is only by chance that one can obtain a shot at them. My plans were also considerably disarranged by the two shipwrecks, which did not form a part of my original pro- gramme ; nevertheless I trust that the observations I was able to make may prove interesting to the student of ornithology. HALIAETUS ALBICILLA (Linn.). The Sea-Eagle was common on the banks of the Yen-e-say', Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 323 becoming gradually rarer north of the Arctic circle. I had a fine male brought me which had been caught in a fox-trap. ARCHIBUTEO LAGOPUS (Gmel.). I frequently saw the Rough-legged Buzzard on the wing near our winter- quarters, but failed to secure a specimen. MlLVUS MIGRANS (Bodd.) . I did not notice the Black Kite on the Yen-e-say' until we reached lat. 61 on the return journey. From this point it increased in abundance as we proceeded south and west, until in Tomsk it swarmed to as great an extent as it does in Con- stantinople. I did not shoot one of these birds. FALCO PEREGRINUS, Tunstall. The Peregrine Falcon was first seen on the Koo-ray'-i-ka about the middle of May ; and on the 25th of that month I secured a fine male. I once saw one of these birds dash into a flock of Snow-Buntings and bear one off in its talons. On the tundra they were breeding on the steep mud-cliffs on the banks of the Yen-e-say'. In lat. 69| I spent the night of the 13th-14th July on shore, shooting. I had no sooner landed than a couple of Peregrines showed me their nest by their loud cries. A glance at the cliffs decided the place where the nest ought to be on the top of a steep mud pro- montory, which stretched out to a sharp ridge beyond and above the surrounding coast. I climbed up a valley in which the snow was still lying, and walked straight along the ridge to the little hollow where the four red eggs were placed upon a dozen small flakes of down. The eggs were considerably incubated. FALCO TINNUNCULUS, Linn. I did not observe the Kestrel until I reached Yen-e-saisk' on my return journey, about the middle of August. The banks of the river to the south of the town are very flat ; and a wide extent of meadow-land, which had recently been cut for hay, stretches southward for miles. This plain is sur- rounded by forests and intersected with numerous half-dried- up river-beds running parallel to the Yen-e-say'. In this z 2 324 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. locality I found the Kestrel very abundant, and I frequently saw as many as a score on the wing together. It was also very common on the road-side as we drove through Kras-no- yarsk' to Tomsk, frequently alighting on the telegraph-posts. ACCIPITER NISUS (Linn.) . The Sparrow-Hawk was one of the numerous enemies which the Snow-Buntings had to guard against as long as they stayed at our winter-quarters. I shot a male on the 1st of June, but had frequently seen this bird earlier. CIRCUS CYANEUS (Linn.). I saw the first Hen-Harrier on the 24th May, and one or more were almost daily seen as long as we remained at the Koo-ray-i-ka. I shot two old males, one young male, and one female. SYRNIUM URALENSE (Pall.). We frequently saw a large Owl, which I have little doubt was of this species, sailing over the ship in the evenings whilst she was frozen up in winter-quarters ; but it took care never to come within range of our guns. Asio ACCIPITRINUS (Pall.) . I twice saw the Short-eared Owl, once in lat. 66^, and the other time in lat. 67, but failed to secure a specimen. NYCTEA SCANDIACA (Linn.) . I did not see the Snowy Owl on the wing, but had a very white specimen sent me in the flesh, which had been caught in a fox-trap. In lat. 70^ the natives told me that this bird and the Willow-Grouse were the only species which wintered on the tundra. PODOCES HENDERSONI, Hume. This remarkable bird has not yet been recorded from poli- tical Siberia, but occurs almost on the frontiers, in the Eastern Palsearctic region. When I was passing through Omsk, Pro- fessor SlofftzofF presented me with a skin of this bird, which had been shot by a shepherd on the Chor'-na Ear'-tish, or Black Irtish, a river which flows through Lake Saisan and joins the Ear'-tish near Semipalatinsk. The shepherd described it as Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 325 very wild and difficult to approach, and said that he had chased it for a couple of days before he succeeded in se- curing it. This specimen differs from Hume's description in having no spots on the head. Only a few of the feathers on the nape have slight indications of spots, almost like gold dust, at the tips. The plate of this bird in ' Lahore to Yarkand 3 (p. 244) is by no means a good one. The bar on the wing in my copy is coloured very pale blue, instead of pure white ; and the conspicuous white feathers on the carpal joint are entirely concealed by the feathers of the breast. PICOIDES TRIDACTYLUS (Linn.). Picus tridactylus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 177 (1766). Apternus crissoleucus , Bouap. Consp. Vol. Zyg. p. 9 (1854), ex Brandt, MS. in M us. Petrop. On my arrival at the wintering-place of the ' Thames ' on the Arctic circle, I found the Three-toed Woodpecker common in the pine-forests on both banks of the Koo-ray'-i-ka, and was assured by the sailors that it had frequently been seen there throughout the winter. I brought home seven skins of this bird, six of which are representative examples of the form P. crissoleucus (Bp.), in which the underparts are much, whiter than usual, the feathers on the belly and under tail-coverts being very slightly barred with black, and the outside tail-fea- thers also displaying more white than in the common form. The seventh skin agrees exactly with skins of the usual colour in my collection from the Petchora, Archangel, and Norway. It seems doubtful whether P. crissoleucus be an Eastern form of P. tridactylus, or merely a very old bird of the latter species. I may remark that in my series of skins the yellow on the head of the male is more developed in the paler-coloured birds than in those more profusely barred, favouring the idea that the difference is one of age. SITTA EUROP^EA, Linn. Birds are very rare in the Siberian forests in winter. I have often silently threaded my way between the pines on snow-shoes for hours without hearing a note or seeing a fea- ther. Then, perhaps, I should suddenly find myself in the 326 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. midst of a small party of Lapp-Tits. What few birds there are in these vast solitudes are very sociable. I generally found the Lapp-Tits accompanied by a pair of Pine-Grosbeaks, and occasionally by a pair of Nuthatches. The Nuthatch of the Yen-e-say' cannot be separated specifically from the com- mon European form. It is undoubtedly a whiter form. The forehead is whiter, and the flanks are much less rufous. These paler forms are characteristic of Siberia, and have given rise to many new synonyms. Thus the Siberian form of Picus tridactylus has been called P. crissoleucus by Brandt, that of Parus cinctus P. grisescens by Dresser ; and the pale form of Sitta europaea is the S. uralensis of Lichtenstein, the S. asiatica of Gould, and the S. roseilia of Bonaparte. Dresser, in his ' Birds of Europe/ describes the legs of S. europcea as ' ' plumbeous grey/' in contradistinction to those of S. c&sia, which he describes as " pale dull brown/' This does not at all agree with my observations in Siberia. The following note was written on the spot, with several fresh- killed birds of each of the two species referred to before me : " The Nuthatch and the Titmouse which are found here are remarkably alike in their general distribution of colour, but differ considerably in the bill and feet. The feet of the Lapp- Titt are lead- colour, almost black. The bill of the Nuthatch is dark lead-colour above, and pale lead-colour below, almost the colour of the back." The feet, on the other hand, seem to have been painted with the same colouring matter as the under tail-coverts, and are pale chestnut-brown, with the soles a dirty yellow. CUCULTJS CANORUS, Linn. I first heard the Cuckoo on the 5th June, and shot a male a few days later. I did not myself hear this bird further north than 67, but was assured that it was not unfrequent at Doodin'-ka, in lat. 69, nearly at the limit of forest-growth. CUCULUS HIMALAYANUS, Vigors. On the 15th of June a second species of Cuckoo presented himself, with an entirely different voice to our bird, a gut- tural and hollow -sounding hoo, not unlike the cry of the Hoopoe. This cry can be heard at a great distance, and is Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 327 generally repeated two or three times in succession. The bird was very wild, and I only succeeded in shooting two of them, both females one an old bird in grey plumage, the other in the red plumage of the first year. This Cuckoo is almost an exact miniature of our bird, though the bill is slightly larger than that of the common European Cuckoo, and the barring on the underparts somewhat more distinct. If it had not been for the difference in voice, I should have scarcely supposed it to be more than a small race of our bird. The wings measure 7'6 in. CUCULUS STRIATUS, Drapiez. " Cuculus striatus, Drapiez," Jerdon, B. Ind. i. p. 328. "Cuculus optatus, Gould," Radde, Amurl. ii. p. 135. In Dresser's exhaustive article on the Common Cuckoo in the ' Birds of Europe/ of which he has kindly lent me the proof sheets, he refers to the nearly allied species. Two of these come into my Siberian region, Cuculus optatus, Gould apud Radde, and Cuculus sparverioides , Vigors apud Schrenck. Dresser identifies C. optatus with C. himalayanus. In this I cannot agree with him. After comparing Jerdon's excellent description of the note of the Himalayan species with Radde's minute account of the note of the Amoor bird, I think we may positively state that C. optatus, Gould apud Radde, is not C. himalayanus, Vigors apud Jerdon. The dimensions given by Radde are much too large for those of C. himalay- anus, and agree best with those of C. striatus. After exam- ining the cuckoos in the British Museum, I do not feel much doubt that Radde's bird was a specimen of C. striatus. CUCULUS HYPERYTHRUS, Gould. Von Schrenck gives an excellent figure of what he thinks, somewhat doubtfully, to be an immature male of Cuculus sparverioides, Vigors. I have two skins lately brought from Japan by Mr. Heywood Jones, which agree exactly with Schrenck's plate. They appear to me to be much too small for C. sparverioides -, and I am inclined to identify both the Amoor and the Japan birds with the Cuculus hyperythrus of Gould, described by him in the P. Z. S. of 1856, p. 96, and figured in the ' Birds of Asia ' (pt. 8) . 328 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. COBVUS CORAX, Linn. We occasionally noticed Ravens during almost the whole of our long sledge-journey ; but at the Koo-ray'-i-ka they did not appear until the middle of May. After their arrival a day seldom passed without one or more being seen. They seemed to me to be less shy than Ravens usually are, and I had no difficulty in shooting half a dozen to skin. I was told, upon good authority, that in summer they are found as far north as the Russian fishermen go, about lat. 72. I brought home eight skins of this bird with me. They varied in length of wing, from carpal joint, from 16'2 to 17 '2 inches. The exposed portions of the bastard primary varied from 6 to 7 inches, and the distance from the end of the first primary to the end of the second primary from 3*3 to 4 inches, the bastard primary exceeding in length the end of the inner- most secondaries. CORVUS CORNIX, Linn. During the whole of our long sledge-journey from Nishni Novgorod as far as Tomsk the Hooded Crow abounded on the road-sides ; and in returning during the autumn I found it equally common on the banks of the various rivers which the steamer navigates between Tomsk and Tobolsk, and between the latter town and Tyu-main'. Indeed, so far as my obser- vation goes, the whole of Russia and West Siberia may be described as a vast colony of Hooded Crows. East Siberia, on the other hand, is an equally vast colony of Carrion-Crows. " From Kras-no-yarsk' to Yen-e-saisk' I saw nothing but the Carrion-Crow. Middendorff records the same on the Lay'-ria, and eastwards to the sea of Okotsk ; and southwards Prje- valsky (pronounced Psheval'sky) found it common in Mon- golia. The distance between Tomsk and Kras-no-yarsk' is about 550 versts. As you travel eastwards from Tomsk for the first 200 versts the Hooded Crow only is to be seen. During the last 200 versts before reaching Kras-no-yarsk' the Carrion-Crow alone is found. In the intermediate 150 versts about one fourth of the Crows are thoroughbred Hoodies, one fourth are pure Carrion, and the remaining half are Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 329 hybrids of every stage ; mulattoes, quadroons, octoroons, and so on ad infinitum. The line of demarcation between the two species may be roughly taken at the meridian of Calcutta, extending north of Yen-e-saisk' along the valley of the Yen- e-say', and south of that town along the watershed of the Obb and the Yen-e-say'. That this state of things is not of recent origin is proved by the fact that it is recorded by Middendorff, who remarked the presence of hybrid Crows at Yen-e-saisk 7 as long ago as 1844. Hybrids between C. corone and C. comix occur occasionally in Scotland, on the Elbe, in Turkestan, and probably wherever both species occur. The fact that these hybrids present a series of every intermediate form between the two species is primd facie evidence of their fertility. I succeeded, however, in getting positive evidence of this fact. On the 1 1th May, whilst the ground was still covered with six feet of snow, I found a pair of hybrid Crows in pos- session of a nest near the top of a pine tree. The nest con- tained one egg. On the 21st I climbed up to the nest again, and found it to contain five eggs. Two of these I took. On the 31st one egg was hatched, and the other two were chipped ready for hatching. On the 26th June I again climbed up to the nest, and found that one of the young birds had either died or flown. I took the other two and shot the female. She proved to be at least three parts Carrion-Crow. The feathers on the sides of the neck, and on the lower part of the breast and belly, are grey, with dark centres. I was unable to .shoot the male; but I had on various occasions examined him through my binocular. He had more Hoodie blood in him than the female, having a very grey ring round the neck, and showing a good deal of grey on the breast and under the wings. My total bag of Crows at the Ku-ray'-i-ka was three thoroughbred Hoodies (two males and a female), ten thorough- bred Carrions (nine males and one female), and fifteen hy- brids (seven males and eight females) . These figures, as far as they go, lead me to the conclusion that the female Carrion- Crows were all breeding, away in the woods, so that I rarely got a shot at one, whereas the female hybrids were most of 330 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. them barren, so that I was able to shoot as many of one sex as of the other. The following descriptions of these hand- some birds may be worth recording : No. 161. The thoroughbred Hooded Crow of the Yen- e-say' has the wings, tail, head, throat (extending as far as the upper part of the breast), and thighs black. The rest of the body is ashy grey, slightly darker on the under tail- coverts. The upper tail-coverts begin grey, gradually become darker in the centre until they are only edged with grey, and finally become black as they join the tail. The axillaries are grey. The grey is much lighter than in Western-European birds, being almost as light as in Corvus capellanus of Sclater, from Persia. The latter bird, however, has a longer bill. No. 181 can only be called a Hooded Crow. The grey is a shade darker than in the preceding, and the shafts of the grey feathers on the back are very dark. No. 162 has traces of black on the centres of the feathers across the back, but perhaps not more than one might expect to find in an accidental variety. No. 128. The grey on the back is very similar to the pre- ceding ; but the upper and under tail-coverts are so much darker than usual that I have no hesitation in saying that this bird is not thoroughbred. No. 164 has still more Carrion-Crow blood in its veins. All the feathers of the back are black, with grey edges. The axillaries and upper and under tail-coverts are nearly black. The breast and belly are much darker than usual. No. 166 I take to be about half-bred. It differs from the latter bird in having more or less grey edgings to the fea- thers on the back between the shoulders, in having the fea- thers of the breast and belly broadly edged with grey, and in having more or less grey on the axillaries and under tail- coverts. No. 141 is very similar to the preceding ; but the grey edges to the feathers are less distinct. Nos. 12, 143, 144, 146, 163, 165, 167, and 168 are evi- dently the commonest form (possibly octoroons) . They are black, with a band of grey feathers (many of them with black Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 331 centres) extending round the neck, below the black head, across the shoulders, above the wings, and crossing the breast below the black throat. Nos. 139 and 140 are nearly thoroughbred Carrion-Crows : but they show a little grey on each side of the neck, between the head and shoulders. These hybrids average 13'2 inches in length of wing from carpal joint, varying from 12*3 to 13'8. The exposed por- tion of the first primary varies in length from 4' 2 to 4*8 inches ; and the distance from the end of the first primary to the end of the second primary averages 3 '3, varying from 3*1 to 3-6. My Yen-e-say' Carrion-Crows average 13'3 in length of wing from the carpal joint, varying from ]2'7 to 14 inches. The exposed portion of the first primary varies in length from 4*3 to 5*2 ; and the distance from the end of the first primary to the end of the second primary averages 3'4, varying from 3 to 3-9. CORVUS CORONE, Linn. I was disappointed not to find any bird which I could iden- tify with any of the eastern forms of this species, such as C. orientalis or C. japonensis. Both C.'corone and C. comix appear to winter south of lat. 60. When we arrived at the Arctic circle we were surprised to find a pair of black Crows frequenting the banks of the Koo-ray'-Uka. The sailors called them Ravens, and assured me that they had wintered near the ship. I succeeded in shooting the male; but, with the exception that he is slightly larger than any other Car- rion-Crow which I shot, I cannot find any point of difference. He measures 14 inches in length of wing. The exposed por- tion of the bastard primary is 4*5 ; and the distance from the end of the first primary to the end of the second primary is 3'9. The end of the bastard primary falls considerably short of the end of the innermost secondaries. After leaving the Arctic circle both this and the preceding species rapidly became rarer. We saw the last Hooded Crow in lat. 69, and the last Carrion-Crow in 69i, about the limit of forest-growth. 332 Mr. H. Seebohrn on the Ornithology of Siberia. CORVUS FRUGILEGUS, Linn. As we sledged over the snow in March and April from Nishni Novgorod to Yen-e-saisk', we never by any chance saw a Rook amongst the Magpies, Ravens, Crows, or Jackdaws on the road-side. Nor did I meet with this bird within the Arctic circle ; but I was informed, upon very good authority, that a pair had once been seen two stations south of Vare- shin'-sky, about lat. 68^. On the return journey I kept a sharp look-out for the Rook, but did not see it until we were threading the labyrinth of the Toor'-a, a little to the east of Tyu-main'. Here large flocks of Rooks were feeding on the banks of the river. CORVUS MONEDULA, Linn. Jackdaws were common on the road-sides and in the villages through which we sledged as far as Tomsk, but became gradually rarer as we neared Kras-no-yarsk', and disappeared altogether at Yen-e-saisk'. Mr. Boiling told me that a stray bird of this species was occasionally seen at the latter town, but that he had not seen any further north. NUCIFRAGA CARYOCATACTES (Linn.). As we sledged down the Yen-e-say' in April we first saw the Nutcracker in lat. 64; and from that time we rarely missed seeing these birds at the different stations where we stopped to change horses. When we reached the ' Thames ' we found this bird quite common and remarkably tame. At one time I counted as many as eight in one tree together. They are wonderfully sociable birds. "Whilst the sailors were working at the ship, cutting away the ice all round her, there were frequently two or three Nutcrackers in different parts of the rigging, apparently watching the operation with great interest. They seem to be well aware of the fact that offal and scraps of food of all kinds are always to be found in winter near the habitations of man. Their tameness was quite absurd. Sometimes the Ost-yak children shot one with a bow and arrow ; and occasionally one was caught by the dogs. On the bushes round the house they allowed us to approach within four 01 five feet of them, and when disturbed moved to the Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 333 nearest tree with a peculiar slow undulating flight. I care- fully preserved them, and fed them with the bodies of the birds I skinned, as I was anxious to secure a good series of their eggs. They treated me, however, in a most ungrateful manner. They continued to be abundant until about the 7th of June, when the snow was pretty well melted from the ground. They then vanished altogether, and, with the ex- ception of a couple of birds I picked up later, in full moult, I saw no more of them until they reappeared in flocks at various stations on the return journey. I offered considerable sums for a nest containing eggs ; but both the Russian peasants and the natives informed me that they had never heard of any one who had seen the nest of a " Ve-roff'-ky," as they call this bird. They doubtless retire into the recesses of the forest to breed. PICA RUSTICA, Scop. Magpies were very common as far as Yen-e-saisk', but dis- appeared further north, at about lat. 60. I did not see any during the summer within the Arctic circle; but Mr. Ulemann, an exile from West Poland, and a very intelligent observer of birds, assured me that he saw a pair every year at Vare- shin'-sky, in lat. 69, and had occasionally seen one as far north as Doo-dink'-a, in lat. 69. STURNUS VULGARIS, Linn. I did not observe the Starling until we had almost reached Yen-e-saisk' on the return journey. At that town it was extremely abundant, for the most part in large flocks. LANIUS MAJOR, Pall. This Shrike was very common on the roadsides as we drove from Yen-e-saisk 7 to Tomsk. It was very fond of perching on the telegraph-wires. It differs from L. excubitor in only showing one white bar across the wings. The white bases to the primaries, from the second to the ninth inclusive, extend for about half an inch beyond the wing-coverts; whilst in the secondaries the white bases are entirely concealed by the wing-coverts, or are absent altogether. Russow, at the St. Petersburg Museum, told me that this is the common eastern 334 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. form, that L. excubitor breeds near St. Petersburg, whilst L. major only passes through on emigration. It winters in Asia Minor. It does not appear to be a very clearly differ- entiated species. I have a skin from Asia Minor with the basal half of the eleventh quill white, whilst the tenth, twelfth, and succeeding quills scarcely show a trace of white at the base; and, curiously enough, this is the same in both wings. Birds like these may be intermediate forms ; or, after my ex- perience of the Crow, I should not be surprised to find that on the boundary line of their geographical distribution they occasionally, if not habitually, intermarry. PASSER DOMESTICUS (Linn.). The common Sparrow abounded in all the towns and vil- lages through which we sledged as far as Yen-e-saisk', and disappeared about lat. 60. On the 16th of June a solitary pair appeared at the Koo-ray'-i-ka, the only occasion on which I met with this bird within the Arctic circle. PASSER MONTANUS (Linn.). Tne only place between Nishni Novgorod and Yen-e- saisk' where I observed the Tree-Sparrow was at a little village about forty miles west of Kasan. In Yen-e-saisk' it was as abundant as the common Sparrow ; but I did not meet with it further north. PYRRHULA MAJOR, Brehm. The very handsome large variety of the Bullfinch with the brick-red breast was very abundant wherever the road passed through forests as far as Yen-e-saisk'; but I did not meet with it afterwards, either in the Arctic circle, or on the return journey. CARPODACUS ERYTHRINUS (Pall.) . The Scarlet Bullfinch arrived on the Arctic circle on the 6th of June, and was soon afterwards very abundant. I did not observe it further north than lat. 68. Its cheerful little song was constantly heard. It did not require a great stretch of imagination to fancy it said " pleased to see' you." I only shot one male without the scarlet on the breast. Baron Maydell got this bird in the Tschuski Land. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 335 CORYTHUS ENUCLEATOR (Linn.). We found the Pine-Grosbeak common in the forests on the Arctic circle in small parties on our arrival. When sum- mer came they dispersed in the woods, and were very rarely seen. I did not observe them further north. FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA, Linn. The Brambling arrived at our winter-quarters on the 1st of June. I did not observe it further north than 69. LINOTA LINARIA (Linn.) . LlNOTA EXILIPES (CoUCs) . At Yen-e-saisk' we found large flocks of Redpoles in the first week in April ; but they did not put in an appearance at the Koo-ray'-i-ka until the 28th of May. I obtained both these supposed species, and every possible intermediate form. The young in first plumage (No. 943, shot in the valley of the Yen-e-say', in lat. 69, on the 29th July) differs from the adult birds in having the edgings of the feathers of the plumage generally, but especially of the wing-coverts and innermost secondaries, greyish buff, instead of pure white. The feathers on the breast, flanks, and under tail-coverts have a dark streak in the centre. My series of these birds comprises forty carefully selected skins, from Norway, the Petchora, and the Yen-e-say'. Twenty -two of these are males, and eighteen are females. Two skins, one of a male and the other of a female, both shot in April, show considerable remains of the buff colour on the head, back, wing-coverts, and inner secondaries, characteristic of the bird of the year. Other skins show traces of this buff colour on the head and back only. These birds fly in such large flocks that one often gets a dozen or more at a shot. In selecting birds to skin I inva- riably chose all the birds showing red on the breast, rejecting a large proportion of those without red breasts ; nevertheless only half the males in my collection show any red on the breast. So far as it goes, this fact supports the theory of Mr. Hancock, that the red breast is a sign of immaturity. My red-breasted birds vary considerably inter se. Four of 336 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. them have only a tint of rose-colour on the breast and rump. Three of these were shot in April, and one in June. They may be taken as types of the supposed species L. exilipes. All the feathers, but especially those on the rump, the wing- coverts, the inner secondaries, and the inner web of the out- side tail-feathers, are broadly margined with white. There are scarcely any dark centres to the feathers on the rump, and none on the under tail-coverts ; and the underparts are speci- ally white. Two males, without the red breast, have the same characters, but are more abraded in plumage, and show less of the white margin to the feathers. A skin dated 12th July has the feathers so abraded that the white rump, and the white margins to the feathers generally, have almost disap- peared ; but the under tail-coverts are pure white. A skin dated 13th of June, from Norway, may be taken as full sum- mer plumage of this form. The white margins to the tail- feathers are very conspicuous ; but the red on the breast is more developed, and the mealy appearance of the bird has suffered from the abrasion of the feathers. Two females may possibly belong to this form, one of them having un streaked under tail-coverts, and the other an unstreaked rump ; but neither of them shows the broad margins to the tail-feathers. Another skin, dated the 7th of April, has the unstreaked rump, but streaked under tail-coverts. The breast is very carmine for the alledged species L. exilipes ; and this skin also wants the broad white margins to the tail-feathers ; but, as it shows a good deal of the immature buff-colour on the upper parts, it may be a bird which has retained other marks of immaturity. Four skins with richly carmine breasts, and traces of car- mine on the rump, all shot in June, are representative ex- amples of L. linaria in breeding-plumage. They have all streaked rumps and under tail-coverts ; but one of them has broad white edgings to the inner webs of the tail-feathers. In two other skins, one shot on the 28th of July and the other on the 2nd of August, the plumage is very abraded, and the carmine on the breast nearly lost. The remaining skins have no carmine on the breast. In all of these the Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornitholoyy of Siberia. 337 white edgings to the tail-feathers are narrow. They have all striped under tail-coverts ; and all but two have streaked rumps. I am inclined to think that L. exilipes is the same species as L. linaria. I do not see that it is even a good variety. So far as I can make out, the differences are only those of age, sex, and season. If they must be separated, I think the colour of the under tail-coverts is a better character to go upon than that of the rump. Five birds, all males, have larger bills than the rest. Four of these have streaked rumps and under tail-coverts, the fifth is the slightly immature bird pre- viously mentioned as having been shot on the 7th of April. I found these birds common as far north as I went, i. e. lat. EMBERIZA PUSILLA, Pall. The arrival of birds in the Arctic regions is dependent, to a large extent, upon the arrival of summer, which comes suddenly with the breaking up of the ice on the river, and the general melting of the snow. Last year, summer was unusually late in Northern Asia. On the Arctic circle, in the valley of the Yen-e-say', the ice on the river began to break up on the 1st of June, and migratory birds arrived in great numbers. On the 7th the Little Bunting arrived, in com- pany with the Golden Plover and the Dark Thrush, nearly in the middle of the spring migration. Before the snow, which was lying upon the ground to the depth of five or six feet up to the 1st of June, had sufficiently melted to make the forests penetrable, the Little Bunting was extremely abundant, and its unobtrusive song was constantly heard. On the 23rd of June I found the first nest. I was on the south bank of the Koo-ray'-i-ka, and was scrambling through the forest down the hill towards my boat, amongst tangled underwood and fallen tree-trunks, rotten and moss- grown, when a Little Bunting started up out of the grass at my feet. It did not fly away, but flitted from branch to branch within six feet of me. I knew at once that it must have a nest ; and in a quarter of a minute I found it, half SER. IV. - VOL. II. 2 A 338 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. hidden in the grass and moss. It contained five eggs. The bird was still close to me ; and I was obliged to leave the nest in order to get far enough from the bird, so as to avoid blowing it to pieces. It seemed a shame to shoot the poor little thing ; but as the five eggs in the nest were the only authentic eggs of this species known to exist, it was abso- lutely necessary for their complete identification. The nest was nothing but a hole made in the dead leaves, moss, and grass, copiously and carefully lined with fine dead grass. The eggs were very handsome, almost exact miniatures of the eggs of the Corn-Bunting. The ground-colour is pale grey, with bold twisted blotches and irregular round spots of very dark grey, and equally large underlying shell-markings of paler grey. They measure f J- x f-g- of an inch. I took the second nest in the forest on the opposite bank of the Koo-ray'-i-ka on the 29th of June, containing three eggs. These egg are somewhat less, measuring f $- x |-J- of an inch. The colour is redder, being brown rather than grey, but the markings are similar. The nest was in a similar position, and the behaviour of the bird precisely the same. The third nest I took in lat. 67, on the 30th of June. The eggs, five in number, were slightly incubated. The markings are similar to those of the eggs in the two preceding nests ; but the ground-colour is browner, being less olive than in the first nest, and less red than in the second. The nest was lined with reindeer-hair. The fourth nest contained six eggs, and was taken a few miles to the north of the preceding, on the 6th of July. The eggs are intermediate in colour between those of the two nests last described. The character of the nest was similar to the last, but more sparingly lined with reindeer-hair. The tameness of the bird was the same in every instance. The Little Bunting was common in the forest from the Arctic circle northwards, and afterwards on the tundra up to lat. 71; but I did not observe it at Gol-cheek'-a, in lat. 71^, nor upon the Brek'-off-sky islands. There are skins of this bird in the St.-Petersburg Museum, collected by Baron May- dell in the Tschuski Land. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 339 EMBERIZA SCHCENICLUS, Linn. The Reed-Bunting arrived on the Arctic circle on the 13th of June, and soon became very common. As we proceeded north we lost sight of this bird before we had quite reached the limit of forest-growth ; but I got a sitting of its eggs in lat. 70i. EMBERIZA POLARIS, Midd. On the 9th of June, four days before the arrival of the Reed-Bunting, a smaller and darker-coloured Bunting ap- peared. It was very shy and skulking in its habits, and I only secured one specimen. I afterwards added a second to my collection. It appeared to be a comparatively rare and local bird. I did not find it anywhere except on the banks of the Koo-ray'-i-ka. I looked for it in vain on the other bank of the Yen-e-say', opposite the mouth of the Koo-ray'- i-ka, a locality where the Reed-Bunting was extremely abun- dant. The following measurements of a male, compared with a male of the common bird from the same locality, show that it is considerably smaller than the European Reed-Bunting, with a proportionately slightly longer tail. The figures are inches and decimals. Wing from carpal joint . Tail E. schceniclus. 3'25 2'7 E. polarise 2-83 2-5 Culmen 43 Tarsus 75 '65 The distribution of colour in the two species is exactly the same, except that the margins of the feathers on the back, wing-coverts, and inner secondaries vary from rich chest- nut to pale brown in the larger species, and from blue- grey to white in the smaller species. This is specially conspicuous on the wing- coverts near the carpal joint. On the smaller bird there is a trace of chestnut in the middle of the back and on the inner secondaries. So far as I know, the male of this bird has never been de- scribed before; but I think there can scarcely be a doubt that it is the male of the bird described by Middendor^f as Emberiza 2A2 340 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. polaris in his ' Sibirische Reise/ ii. p. 146. This bird was described from a female, obtained by Middendorff about three hundred miles to the north-east of the locality where I pro- cured my bird. He represents it as differing from the female of E. schceniclus in almost precisely the same characters which I have pointed out above as distinguishing the two males. EMBERIZA AUREOLA, Pall. I shot this very handsome and conspicuous bird for the first time on the Arctic circle on the 9th of June, but only occasionally saw it afterwards. This must be nearly its northern limit. On the return journey I shot it again at Yen-e-saisk', in lat. 58, in the middle of August, with scarcely fledged young. There are skins of this bird in the St. -Peters- burg Museum, collected by Baron Maydell in the Tschuski Land. EMBERIZA LEUCOCEPHALA, Gmel. I shot one solitary bird of the Pine-Bunting on the Arctic circle on the 13th of June, but did not meet with it again. EMBERIZA RUSTICA, Pall. I did not meet with this bird until I reached lat. 62, on my return journey. PLECTROPHANES NIVALIS (Linn.). In crossing the great steppes of South-western Siberia, between Tyu-main' and Tomsk, we frequently came upon small flocks of Snow-Buntings. These birds seem to have no settled winter home ; but during the cold weather they appa- rently live a roving gipsy life, wandering about in flocks, perpetually migrating northwards as fast as the frost and snow will let them, but continually forced to beat a retreat with every return of wintry weather. As we passed through Yen-e-saisk' early in April, we were told that the Snow- Buntings had arrived just before us. When we reached the winter- quarters of the ' Thames/ on the 23rd of April, the sailors informed us that the Snow-Buntings had preceded us by a few days. Small flocks were constantly seen until the 7th of June. We saw no more of them until we reached Gol- cheek'-a, where we were in their breeding-grounds. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 341 PLECTROPHANES LAPPONICUS (Linn.). The Lapland Bunting did not arrive at the winter-quarters of the ' Thames' until the 4th of June. It was breeding in great numbers on the tundra as far north as we went, i. e. lat. 71 i. ALAUDA ARVENSIS, Linn. The only Skylark I saw was one which I shot at our winter- quarters on the llth of June. OTOCORYS ALPESTRIS (Linn.). The Shore-Lark was common on the Arctic circle from the 2nd to the llth of June. After we had passed the limit of forest-growth,, and had reached the tundra, it was again com- mon as far north as we went. ANTHUS GUSTAVI, Swinhoe. Anthus gustavi, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1863, pp. 90, 273. Anthus batchianensis , G. R. Gray, Hand-1. of Birds, i. p. 251. no. 3642 (1869). Anthus seebohmi, Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. xlv. (1875). It is seldom that the history of an obscure bird is so sud- denly and completely worked out as has been the case with this species during the last two years. The Siberian Pipit was first described by Swinhoe in 1863 (loc.cit.), from spe- cimens obtained at Amoy, in South China, on migration. In 1871 (P. Z. S. p. 366) he announced its identity with Anthus batchianensis, based by G. R. Gray on skins collected by Wallace in Batchian. In 1874 (Ibis, p. 442) he announced the capture of no less than fourteen of these birds at Chefoo, during the spring migration, and mentions having seen one skin sent from Lake Baikal by Dr. Dybowsky. In 1875 Harvie Brown and I found it breeding in the valley of the Petchora, about lat. 67i (Ibis, 1876, p. 120). Our skins were submitted to Dresser, who, believing the species to be undescribed, included it as a new species in the ' Birds of Europe' as Anthus seebohmi. In 1876 Finsch and Brehm procured a specimen in the valley of the Obb, a little to the north of the Arctic circle (Ibis, 1877, p. 58). In the same number of ( The Ibis ' I had the honour, I will not say the 342 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. pleasure, of pointing out the fact that Anthus seebohmi of Dresser was identical with Anthus gustavi of Swinhoe. Just before leaving for Siberia I was, by the kindness of Dr. Briig- gemann, put in possession of the facts that Anthus gustavi had been procured in winter at Manilla (Briiggemann, Ab- handl. Ver. Bremen, v. p. 67), Celebes (Briiggemaim, loc. cit. ; - Walden, Tr. Z. S. viii. p. 117), Borneo, and Negros (fide skins in the British Museum) . During the arrival of migratory birds on the Arctic circle in the valley of the Yen-e-say', I naturally kept a sharp look- out for this interesting species, and was delighted on the 23rd of June to hear its peculiar and familiar song, and to shoot a fine male. On the 15th of July, in lat. 704, I met with this bird breeding, and obtained a sitting of its eggs. On the 26th of July, on my return journey, in about the same latitude, I found it breeding in considerable numbers, and secured eight specimens more. In the Museum of St. Petersburg I had the pleasure of identifying skins of this species collected by Baron Maydell in the Tschuski Land, north of Kamtchatka, and on Beh- ring Isle, to the east of that peninsula, collected by Woss- nessensky ; so that it would appear that the geographical distribution of this Pipit is almost the same as that of Phyl- loscopus borealis. ANTHUS CERVINUS, Pall. The Red-throated Pipit was first seen on the banks of the Koo-ray'-i-ka on the 6th of June. One of the birds which I shot on that day was in winter plumage, with scarcely a trace of vinous on the throat ; and I entered it in my journal as the sole example of Anthus pratensis which I met with in the valley of the Yen-e-say'; but in St. Petersburg Bussow pointed out to me the difference between the plumage of Anthus pratensis and the winter plumage of A. cervinus. In the latter bird the central large under tail-covert has a dark streak up the middle near the shaft. I have examined the whole of my large series of these birds from Norway, Russia, and Siberia^ and winter skins of A. cervinus from Asia Minor Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 343 and China, and find that in every case where the large under tail-covert has not been shot away this distinction holds good. This bird breeds in considerable numbers on the tundra as far north as we went. There is a great variation in the colours of the eggs in the same nest, some being much darker than others. There are skins of this bird in the Museum at St. Petersburg, collected by Baron Maydell in the Tschuski Land. ANTHUS RICHARDI, Vieill. Richard's Pipit must breed in great numbers on the exten- sive meadow-lands which stretch away for miles from Yen-e- saisk' on the banks of the river. I found it common there in the middle of August, and shot both adult birds in full moult and young in first plumage. This bird has a habit of hovering over the ground almost exactly like a Kestrel. ANTHUS TRIVIALIS (Linn.). I did not meet with the Tree-Pipit until I reached lat. 62 on my return journey. MOTACILLA ALBA, Linn. Motacilla alba, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 331 (1766). Motacilla dukhunensis, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 91. Motacilla baicalensis, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 363. I think there can be no doubt that M. alba and M. dukhu- nensis are the same species. The only difference seems to be in the amount of white on the wing-coverts. M. alba has dark grey or black wing-coverts, more or less broadly edged with white. In M. dukhunensis the inside half of each wing-covert is the same as in M. alba-, but the outside half is entirely white, making the wing-coverts, as they lie on the wing overlapping each other, an entirely white mass. This latter form seems to be confined to Siberia and India ; but as in both these countries a complete series of intermediate forms occur also, we cannot consider the eastern form more than a variety. The amount of white on the wing-coverts of many of the species in this genus, and in some of them the amount of white on the secondaries, varies so much, that if we were to admit it as a specific cha- 344 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. racter we should at once more than double the number of supposed species. In the valley of the Yen-e-say' both varieties were equally common. I only found the extreme white- winged form among the males. This Wagtail was the first thin-billed bird to arrive on the Arctic circle in any numbers. The first break up of the ice on the 1st of June was the signal of its appearance. I found it as far north as we went, i. e. lat. 71 J. The geographical distribution of this bird is very curious, As Middendorff did not find it, we may take the watershed between the Yen-e-say' and the Lay '-na as its eastern boundary, whence it extends westwards as far as the Atlantic on the continent of Europe, but only appears accidentally in the British Isles. As you ascend the Yen-e-say' from the Arctic circle, this bird abounds on the banks of the river until you near Yen -e-saisk' (about lat. 59), when suddenly it disap- pears, and its place is taken by M . personata. From Yen-e- saisk' to Kras-no-yarsk', and westwards until you cross the meridian of Calcutta, M. personata abounds, after which, across Siberia and Europe, you find no white Wagtail but M. alba. There appears, however, to be a colony of M. alba still further to the east. Middendorff had a skin sent him from Birjussa, about halfway between Yen-e-saisk' and Lake Bai- kal ; and there is no doubt that it is a common bird in the neighbourhood of that lake, as skins collected in that locality by Dr. Dybowsky are not rare in collections. From this colony these birds migrate in great numbers across Mongolia and the extreme west of China, and doubtless find their way thence to India. MOTACILLA PERSONATA, Gould. This is a very well-marked species, differing from M. alba in having the black on the breast confluent with the black on the neck. Well-marked examples show even more white on the wing-coverts than in the most marked M. alba, var. dukhunensis, whilst others are similar in this respect to typical Mr. H. Secbohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 345 examples of the European form of M. alba an additional proof that this character cannot be deemed specific in the Wagtails. I did not meet with this bird until my return journey. The particulars of its geographical distribution in Siberia, so far as I had an opportunity of observing it, are given under the head of M. alba. MOTACILLA OCULARIS, Motacilla ocularis, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1863, p. 17. Motacilla alba, Linn., var. lugens, 111. Midd. Sib. Reise, ii. p. 166 (1851, nee 111. nee Temm.). Motacilla baicalensis, var. temporalis, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 363. In the Museum at St. Petersburg I had an opportunity of examining several skins collected by Middendorff in North and East Siberia labelled Motacilla lugens. They all proved on examination to be Motacilla ocularis, a grey -backed pied Wagtail, with a black patch on the hind crown extending to the nape, and another on the throat and breast. It differs from Motacilla alba in having a narrow black line extending from the centre of the black patch on the head, and passing through the eyes to the base of the bill. In the same museum were skins of M. ocularis from the Amoor, collected by Schrenck, from Mongolia, collected by Prjevalski, and from the Tschuski Land, collected by Maydell. I did not meet with this species on the Yen-e-say'; and probably the water- shed between that river and the Lay'-na is its western boundary. MOTACILLA AMURENSIS, sp. nov. (Plate IX.) Motacilla alba, var. lugens, v. Schrenck, Amur-Lande, i. p. 338. In the present condition of ornithological literature, loaded with synonyms, any one who adds a name to the almost ex- haustless list is guilty of a crime ; but where the species proves to have been undescribed before, his fellow ornitho- logists will admit that he has a right to plead " extenuating circumstances/' I am afraid I shall be unable to complete my list of Siberian Wagtails without describing a skin in my 346 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. collection, obtained through Schliiter of Halle, dated 14th April, 1876, from the Gulf of Abrek, in the Sea of Japan, labelled Motacilla ocularis $ . The head, neck, and back are black, gradually fading into grey on the rump, which becomes black again on the upper tail-coverts. The throat, breast, and a line through the eye are also black. Forehead and cheeks, and a line behind the eye and on the side of the neck, white. Shoulders grey. Wing-coverts white. Inner secondaries broadly edged with white on the outside web. Primaries and secondaries broadly edged with white near the base of the inner web. This bird is undoubtedly the Motacilla alba, var. lugens, of Schrenck, who describes it as common in the Amoor, and considers it an intermediate form between M. japonica and M. ocularis. There seems to be no alternative but either to describe it as a new species, or to regard it as a hybrid be- tween the two species just named. I have preferred the former course as the least evil of the two. From M. ocularis it may at once be distinguished by its black back, and from M . japonica by its grey secondaries. In Dresser's collection is a skin of this bird from Japan, a male, collected by Whitely, 17th April, 1865; and I have a skin collected by Wossnessensky on the 23rd of April, 1 845, upon ( ' Oorogan Island," possibly either one of the Kurile or one of the Aleutian Isles. MOTACILLA ALBOIDES, Hodgs. Motacilla alboides, Hodgson, As. Res. xix. p. 191 (1836). Motacilla leucopsis, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, p. 78. Motacilla luzoniensls, auctt. nee Scop. Motacilla alba, vay.paradoxa, Schrenck, Reis. u. Forsch. im Amur-Lande, i. p. 341 (1860). Motacilla felix, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 121. There are five species of white Wagtails found in India. Two of these are resident species, M. maderaspatana, hereafter alluded to, and M. hodgsoni, which may be described as a black-backed M. per sonata. Of the remaining three we have already disposed of the breeding -places of two, M. per sonata Mr. II. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 347 and M . alba, or, as the Indian bird is generally called, M . duk- hunensis. The remaining species, M. luzoniensis, inhabits the eastern plains of India in winter. S winhoe has clearly pointed out (P. Z. S. 1870, p. 120) that this bird has no right to the name luzoniensis. Scopoli founds his name upon " La Ber- geroiiette a collier de Tile de Lu9on" of Sonnerat, in his ' Voyage a la Nouvelle Guinee/ vol. i. p. 61, pi. 29. Sonnerat describes the colour of the back as "gris de cendre/'and figures a Wagtail with a grey back, very white wing-coverts, a white forehead, cheeks, and throat, but with a gorget of black on the breast confluent with the black on the neck and head. It might represent a female of M. hodgsoni, or a male of M. per sonata in winter plumage ; but inasmuch as no white Wag- tail has been recorded since from this locality, I think we are perfectly justified in cutting the Gordian knot by ignoring the name altogether. M. alboides is in summer a black-backed Wagtail with a black breast. The forehead is white, and a white band sepa- rates the black on the head and neck from the black on the breast, as in M. alba ; but besides the black back, it differs from M. alba in never having the throat black. In winter the back is more or less grey, but the shoulders remain black. I think there can be no doubt whatever that this bird is the Motadlla alba, var. paradoxa of Schrenck, who figures it and describes it as breeding in the Amoor-land. MOTACILLA LUGENS, Temm. et Schl. Motadlla lugens, Temm. et Schl. Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 60, pi. 25 (1850). Motadlla japonica, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1863, p. 309; P. Z. S. 1863, p. 275. After having just stated that the amount of white on the wing of a Wagtail cannot be considered a specific charac- ter, it may appear somewhat paradoxical to assert that the principal and most trustworthy character of this bird is the great amount of white on the wing. In this species, however, it is not only the wing-coverts, but the secondaries and some of 348 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. the primaries which are more or less white. M . lugens may always be recognized by some of the secondaries being white across both webs, and frequently one or two of them are pure white throughout . The amount of white on the primaries varies very much. In summer this species comes very near M. maderaspatana, having a black back, and the white on the head being confined to the forehead and supercilium. On the average M. lugens is a smaller bird than M. maderas- patana ; but large skins of the former species measure more in length of wing than small skins of the latter species. In M. maderaspatana the black on the head comes down in a peak to the base of the bill. M. lugens has a pure white forehead, the black on the head not approaching within half an inch of the base of the bill. This appears, however, not to be a per- fectly stable character, as I have a skin in my collection of the last-named species from Hakodate, in which the black of the forehead comes down in a peak to the base of the bill, as though a not very remote ancestor of this individual had migrated to India instead of China for the winter, and had there intermarried with one of his cousins, as our friends the Crows are in the habit of doing. In winter M. lugens comes very near to M . ocularis. Both species have then grey backs, black heads, a gorget of black on the throat, and a black line passing from the base of the bill through the eye, and joining the black at the back of the neck. M. ocularis is, however, a grey-backed Wagtail, both summer and winter, and has a grey shoulder ; whereas M. lugens loses the black on the back in winter, but retains it on the shoulder the whole year. Independently of these minor differences, the amount of white on the primaries and secondaries of M. lugens serves to distin- guish it easily at all seasons of the year. The geographical distribution of this species, so far as I have been able to ascertain it, from the examination of well- authenticated skins, appears to range from Kamtchatka to Japan in summer, and in winter along the coast of China and the opposite islands, Formosa, &c. I can find no evidence of its having been found further west. The skins in Dresser's collection, collected by Severtzoff in Turkestan (Ibis, 1876, Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 349 p. 177), are M. hodysoni. Middendorff's skins of M. lugens in the St. -Petersburg Museum are M. ocularis. In the same museum there is, however, a fine series of skins of the true M. lugens from Kamtchatka. The synonymy of this bird, simple as it appears, is most bewildering. We have the authority of Mr. Hume (' Stray Feathers/ v. p. 434) for the assertion that, in the opinion of Professor Alfred Newton, " nomenclature bears the same re- lation to real natural history that rat-hunting does to real sport/' Be this as it may, I do not know any one fonder of a "rat-hunt" of this kind than Professor Newton. In his article on the Pied Wagtail, in his new edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ we have an excellent resume of a day's " rat- hunting." The first rat he starts is Motacilla lugubris, Pallas, and after running it through the fourth and third parts of Temminck's ' Manual of Ornithology/ he finally loses the scent in the first part in 1820 (ed. 2, p. 253). The descrip- tion here given being that of a bird which, in Professor Newton's opinion, is " unquestionably identical " with the British Pied Wagtail, that bird becomes M. lugubris, Pallas, apud Temminck ; and since there is no evidence that Pallas ever gave the name of M. lugubris to any Wagtail, our British bird becomes M. lugubris, Temminck. The next " rat " that Professor Newton starts is M. lugens, Illig. This, he tells us in a footnote (loc. cit.}, he chased as far back as 1850, where he suddenly lost the scent in the ' Fauna Japonica.' I must confess that my attempts to run down this animal have been still less successful. I started it in Oustalet's ' Oiseaux de la Chine ' (p. 300), where I was at once tripped up by two errors (" F. Jap. Aves, 25," should read " F. Jap. Aves, p. 60, pi. 25 "; and Swinh. (1860) 357," should read " Swinh. Ibis, 1860, p. 357 "). I picked up the scent again in the P. Z. S. 1870, p. 130, and stumbled on two more errors (" P. Z. S. 1863, p. 17," ought to be " P. Z. S. 1863, p. 275," and "Ibis, 1863, p. 85," ought to be "Ibis, 1863, p. 309 ") . Recovering myself, I pursued the trail through Schrenck's f Amur-Lande/ 1860, with only a slight mishap (the page in Pall. Zoogr. Rosso- Asiat. i. intended to be referred to is 507, not 307), and I 350 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. lost the scent altogether in Middendorff's ' Sibirische Reise/ p. 166 (1851). Since Professor Newton has not been able to kill this rat, as, I think, we may fairly infer from the foot- note already referred to (Newton's ' Yarrell/ i. p. 541), I am driven to the conclusion that " lugens, III./ 3 and " lugubris, Pall./' quoted by Middendorff, are both myths. My next attempt was to try and catch a M. lugens of Pallas, or of any body else. I had nearly as many stumbles in this as in the previous runs. In the ' Fauna Japonica' Schlegel gives a reference to Temminck's ' Manuel ' as " part iii. p. 620/' which ought to be read " part iv. p. 620," an error which I found he had previously made in his ' Rev. Grit, des Ois. d'Eur.' p. 68. In spite of these difficulties I did not lose the scent until 1832, where, so far as I have been able to trace it, M. lugens, Pallas, appears for the first time in Kittlitz's ' Kupfertafeln zur Naturgeschichte der Vogel/ p. 16, pi. 21. fig. 1, from Kamtchatka. From this peninsula there is fortunately a series of skins in the St. -Petersburg Museum, which I had an opportunity of examining, and which I identified as M. lugens of Temm. & Schl. Kittlitz describes his bird as the commonest sum- mer bird in Kamtchatka, and remarks that in autumn it has a white throat, bounded beneath by black, and an ash-grey back. The description is very meagre, and the plate of the bird in breeding-dress represents a state of plumage which I have not seen. The throat is in full summer plumage, i. e. black to the base of the bill, but the cheeks remain in winter plu- mage. A reference to the excellent plate of M. luff ens in the ' Fauna Japonica ' (pi. 25) will show that in full breeding- plumage the black on the throat extends up to, and forms one mass with, the black line through the eye. We must admit that the description and also the plate of M. lugens, Pallas, apud Kittlitz, are scarcely as satisfactory as we could have wished upon which to found a species ; but as the Japanese bird is the only Pied Wagtail hitherto found in Kamtchatka, there is at least a strong probability that Kittlitz's name refers to this bird. There is no evidence to prove that Pallas ever named a bird M. lugens. M. lugens, Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 351 Pallas, apud Temminck (Man. d'Orn. iv. p. 620), is identified with M. lugubris (Man. d'Orn. iii. p. 175), which undoubtedly includes the Japanese bird. Our bird therefore stands as M. lugens, probably of Pallas apud Kittlitz, partly of Pallas apud Temminck, certainly of Temminck and Schlegel. Since it only involves a change of authority and not of name, this seems to me to be a case in which we may safely avail our- selves of the strict letter of the rules of nomenclature, and call our bird Motacilla lugens, Temm. et Schl., on the ground that this name was " clearly denned " for the first time in the ' Fauna Japonica/ rejecting also Swinhoe's name of M. japonica, as having been subsequently given, under the erro- neous impression that the name M. lugens " had already been applied to the very different western species" (vide P. Z. S. 1870, p. 130). It is somewhat remarkable that such an eventful day's (e rat- hunting " should end without a kill, that of the three rats started (M. lugubris, Pall., M. lugens, Pall., and M. lugens, Illig.) every one should be run to earth, and that there is the strongest probability that all the three "rats" are phantom rats, myths. It is still more remarkable that the references to these names should be quoted with so many blunders ; but perhaps the most remarkable circumstance of all is, that Pro- fessor Newton, in the note already twice referred to, should have " made another complication " by starting a fourth phantom rat, M. lugens, Illig. apud Schlegel *. MOTACILLA FLAVA, Linn. I shot a solitary example of the Blue-headed Wagtail with the white eye-stripe on the llth June, on the Arctic circle. This bird had probably accidentally migrated with the large flocks of M. viridis beyond his usual latitude. * Since the above was written, Professor Newton has pointed out to me that in all probability it was Bonaparte who first ascribed the name " lugens " to Illiger in 1850, the correctness of which statement Midden- dorff no doubt took for granted in 1851. Professor Newton desires to correct his footnote (Newton's ( Yarrell,' i. p. 541) as follows : " .... and the Japanese form therein appeared as ' M. lugens ,' a name ascribed by several writers, and amongst them Bonaparte (Consp. Av. i. p. 250), to Illiger ; but whether . . . ." 352 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on MOTACILLA VIRIDIS, Gmel. The Grey-headed Wagtail arrived in flocks on the Arctic circle on the 5th of June, and soon became extremely abun- dant. It does not seem to extend its range beyond the limit of forest-growth, and disappeared about lat. 69. MOTACILLA CITREOLA, Pall. This beautiful bird was the first of the yellow Wagtails to arrive at our winter-quarters. I secured the first example on the 4th of June, and afterwards found it very abundant on the tundra as far north as we went. MOTACILLA MELANOPE (Pall.). One solitary example of the Grey Wagtail fell to my gun on the 6th of June. As this is the first time that this bird has occurred within the Arctic circle, so far as I am aware, it may be looked upon as an accidental occurrence. I may re- mark that my bird, with a tail measuring 3* 75 inches, is inter- mediate in form between the eastern and western varieties. [To be continued.] XXIV. Notes on a ' Catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum/ by R. Bowdler Sharpe (1874) . By J. H. GURNEY. [Continued from p. 164.] BEFORE referring to the genus Helotarsus, to which I shall next have occasion to advert, I am desirous of briefly no- ticing an additional specimen of Circaetus cinereus which has recently been acquired by the Norwich Museum. This example, which is from Abyssinia, agrees closely in coloration with that from Nubia described in my last paper (antea, p. 162, no. 18), and, like it, has no white bases to the feathers on the under surface. Its principal measurements are : Wing 22*2 inches, tarsus 3 '9, middle toe s. u. 2*4, culmen 2*1. I have already mentioned that I consider the genus Helo- tarsus to be an abnormal member of the Circaetine group ; and I am desirous of offering a few remarks upon it, as sup- plementary to those contained in Mr. Sharpens volume. THE IBIS, FOURTH SERIES. No. IX. JANUARY 1879. I. Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. By HENRY SEEBOHM. [Continued from 'The Ibis/ 1877, p. 352.] AMPELIS GARRULUS, Linn. On the 14th of June I recognized the note and caught a distant sight of a small flock of about half a dozen Wax- wings ; but the forest was so much flooded that I was unable to do more than watch the birds through my binocular. PARUS ATER, Linn. I did not meet with the Coal-Tit until I reached Yen-e- saisk' on the return journey. PARUS MAJOR, Linn. The Great Tit is a winter resident in the whole of South Siberia ; and at various villages on the journey as far north as Yen-e-saisk' it was frequently seen. I did not observe it further north. PARUS PALUSTRIS, Linn., subsp. camtchatkensis, Bon. The only time that I met with a Marsh-Tit was on the 12th May. I only saw one pair, in company with a small party of Lapp Tits. They certainly belong to the north- eastern form, with grey rather than brown backs, and with SER. iv. VOL. in. B 2 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. the black on the head extending far down the back. I can- not distinguish a Yeii-e-say' skin from others from Irkutsk and Archangel. It seems to me impossible to allow specific rank to the arctic and subarctic forms of P. palustris, and I think they ought to figure as subspecies only P. palustris , subspecies borealis, and P. palustris, subspecies camt- chatkensis. PARUS CINCTUS, Bcdd., subsp. grisescens, Sharpe et Dresser. I found the Lapp Tit tolerably common in the forests on our arrival on the Arctic circle. It was seldom that I made a round on snow-shoes in the forest without falling in with a small flock of these birds. I did not, however, observe them further north. I brought home a very large series. They agree with skins from Lake Baical in being much less rusty on the flanks than specimens from Europe usually are. They vary considerably inter se ; and it would be easy to make a series from the Norwegian bird, through Archangel and Petchora skins, to the extreme Siberian form. My Yen-e- say' skins certainly belong to the Parus grisescens of Sharpe and Dresser ; but the authors of that title would now, I believe, scarcely claim specific rank for the bird they described. TURDUS PILARIS, Linn. The Fieldfare arrived at the Arctic circle on the 8th of June, and soon became very abundant. I took several nests with eggs during the first week in July. It seemed to be generally distributed over the country, breeding alone or in small parties, and not in the large colonies which are so fre- quently met with in Norway. The call-note of this bird, a loose tsik-tsak, was almost constantly to be heard ; but the song seemed to be confined to the pairing-season. It is a low and not particularly melodious warble, and is generally commenced when the bird is on the wing. The last nest of the Fieldfare which I found was in lat. 69, on the tundra. Here the bird was breeding on the ground under the edge of a cliff, in a situation such as a Ring-Ouzel might have chosen. I did not see the Fieldfare further north than lat. 70i; but I shot them as far south as Yen-e-saisk', in lat. 58, Mr. H. SeeboLm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 3 where they appeared to have been breeding, as it was only the middle of August. TURDUS ILIACUS, Linn. I shot the first Redwing on the 5th of June. It appears to arrive earlier than the Fieldfare, and to go further north. On the Arctic circle it built its nest in the willows and birches, but generally nearer the ground than the Fieldfare usually does. In lat. 71 the Redwing was still common and breed- ing on the ground, generally on a sloping bank. I did not see it further north. TURDUS DUBIUS, Bechst. The first Thrush to arrive at the Arctic circle was this species the Dusky Thrush (T. fuscatus of Pallas). Small parties of it arrived on the 4th of June, and were to be found feeding on the steep banks where the sun had melted the snow. Their call-note reminded me of that of the Redwing. During the next week they were very plentiful, and I began anxiously to look out for their nests ; but within a fortnight after their arrival they had all disappeared, and I saw no more of them until the 12th of July, during our voyage down the river. On this day we cast anchor for a few hours in lat. 69, and I went on shore to explore for the first time a Siberian tundra. I climbed up the steep bank, and found myself in a wild desolate-looking country, full of lakes, swamps, and rivers, in some places a dead flat, in others un* dulating, and even hilly, brilliant with gay flowers, swarming with mosquitoes, and full of birds. In sheltered places dwarf willows and creeping-birches were growing, and (because we were only some fifty versts from the forests) here and there a few stunted larches. Winding through the tundra was the bed of a river, now nothing but a small deep valley, forming a chain of isolated lakes and pools. This river-bed bears the name of the dried-up Doo-din'-ka, and is about fifty versts to the north-west of the real river Doo-dm'-ka. On some of the northern slopes large patches of snow were still lying. Most of the birds evidently had young. I found myself generally the centre of attraction of a little crowd of birds 9 4 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. uttering their various alarm-notes as they flew round or waited on some shrub or plant with their bills full of mos- quitoes, anxious to feed their young as soon as I was out of their way. As I was returning to the shore., and descending a steep sloping bank covered with patches of dwarf birch and willow, overlooking a flat willow-swamp which evidently once formed a little delta at the mouth of the dried-up Doo-dm'-ka, my attention was attracted by a pair of Dusky Thrushes loudly proclaiming the vicinity of their nest. I shot one of them, .and, after a diligent search of half an hour, found the nest in ?the fork of a willow bush level with the ground. It was exactly like the nest of a Fieldfare, lined with dried, grass, and contained, alas ! five young birds about a week old. At noon we weighed anchor ; but at midnight it was blow- ing such a stiff gale that we were afraid to round the " broad nose " of Tol-stan-os' in the ' Ibis / so we cast anchor under the lee of the mud cliffs of the Yen-e-say', and I again went on shore. In some places the cliffs were very steep, and were naked mud or clay. In others the slope was more gradual, and was covered with mud and alder bushes. Among these bushes I found the Dusky Thrush again breeding, but was only able to find one nest with five nearly fledged young. The nest was placed, as before, in the fork of a willow, level with the ground. This was the last time that I saw this species of Thrush. There is considerable variation in the colour of the skins of this species which I brought from the Yen-e-say', espe- cially in the amount of black on the breast and red on the upper plumage. Some specimens have more or less rufous on the tail-feathers, approaching T. naumanni. One male in particular has scarcely any red tinge in the plumage, and lias even grey instead of chestnut axillaries. The young in nest- ling plumage differ from the young of T. pilaris, T. iliacus, T. obscurus, and T. atrigularis, in having more buff on the 'wing and less buff on the breast. TURDUS OBSCURUS, Gm. During the first week of June the forests were practically Mr. 11. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 5 impassable. The deep snow was in process of melting, and too soft to bear the weight even when distributed over a pair of snow-shoes each measuring 4 feet inches long and 10 inches wide. On some of the steeper slopes exposed to the south small oases of bare ground were to be found. One of these, close behind my quarters, thinly covered over with bushes, was a very prolific hunting-ground for me during the spring migration. On this piece of ground, on- the 7th of June, I had the pleasure of shooting my first brace of Dark Thrushes (the Turdus pollens of Pallas, but not the Turdus pallidus of Gmelin) . A couple of days afterwards I shot two more on the same ground. As soon as the forests were pass- able I made daily rambles, and almost always heard the song of this bird. Turdus dubius had gone further north to breed ; but this species was evidently stopping and making prepa- rations to build its nest. This Thrush is a very poor songster, but he has a splendid voice. He warbles two or three clear rich notes, as mellow as those of a blackbird. He stops ; his song is finished; and you hear no more for a minute, when the same brilliant prelude is repeated. On the 27th of June I had the good luck to take the nest of this bird. It was placed upon a horizontal branch of a somewhat slender spruce, about fifteen feet from the ground. The female flew off as I approached the tree. I shot her, and soon had the nest with five eggs in my hand. The nest is carefully made, neatly lined with mud and afterwards with dry grass. The eggs resemble small but richly marked Blackbird's eggs. I did not meet with this interesting Thrush further north than the Arctic circle ; but on my return journey, in lat. 66, on the 3rd of August (and afterwards in lat 63, on the 6th of August), I shot the young in first plumage, with spotted backs and spotted breasts. One of these skins will be figured in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe/ TURDUS SIBIRICUS, Pallas. Whilst the remains of the ice were still straggling down the Ycn-e-say' I occasionally caught a hasty glance at a dark-coloured Thrush with a very conspicuous white eyebrow ; 6 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. but I did not succeed in shooting one until the 19th of June. It was feeding amongst the dead leaves on the ground in a dense birch plantation. It proved to be a fine male in adult plumage. I made the following memorandum of the colours of the soft parts : " Bill black. Iris dark hazel. Pupil blue- black. Legs very light brown, yellower at the back of the tarsus and on the soles of the feet." In lat. 68 my com- panion assured me that he saw one of these very handsome birds on the wing ; but I did not observe it myself after we left the Koo-ray'-i-ka, nor did I observe it at all on the return journey. It seems to be a very shy and wary bird, and it is evidently a very rare Thrush in the valley of the Yen-e-say '. Middendorff does not mention it ; but I heard of it from a Polish exile at Toor-o-kansk' as ihe*Chor' -noi drohzd, or Black Thrush. TURDUS ATRIGULARIS, Temm. I did not meet with the Black-throated Thrush until the 6th of August, in lat. 63, when I shot two birds in first plumage, which puzzled me. Two days later, in lat. 61J, I secured a third young bird, and was fortunate enough to obtain the adult female also. The chestnut colour of the wing-lining and axillaries of the young of this species serve to distinguish it from the young of T. pilaris and T. obscurus. In the young of T. iliacus the chestnut of the wing-lining and axillaries is much deeper in colour, and extends onto the flanks, whilst it is scarcely perceptible on the under tail- coverts. RUTICILLA PIKENICURUS (Linn.). My sole authority for including the Common Redstart among the birds of the Yen-e-say 7 is a fine skin of a young Redstart in first plumage, which I shot on the 3rd of August in lat. 66. The plumage of this skin agrees exactly with that of the young in first plumage of our bird ; and since it was found by Harvie Brown and myself in the valley of the Petchora in about the same latitude, I see no reason for sus- pecting my Yen-e-say' bird to be the young of any other allied species, though it has not hitherto been recorded from so far east. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 7 CYANECULA SUECICA (Liiin.). I found the Blue-throated Warbler very common in the valley of the Yen-e-say'. It was amongst the earliest insect- eating birds to arrive at our winter-quarters. I shot several on the 5th of June. For a week or two they were very com- mon ; but as the snow on the tundra melted they gradually left us, only a few remaining to breed. I lost sight of the Blue-throat in lat. 71. NEMURA CYANURA (Pall.). Curiously enough the first Warbler I shot on the Yen- e-say' was the Blue-rum ped Warbler. It was, of course, only an accidental straggler, who had strayed away from his companions and reached the Arctic circle before his time. It was the 21st of May, a bitterly cold day, no sunshine, a sou'-west wind, but nevertheless a keen frost. I did not turn out in the morning ; but in the afternoon I put on my snow- shoes and had a round through the forest. There was hardly a bird to be seen ; but as I was returning to the ship I caught sight of a little bird flitting about from tree to tree, apparently seeking insects on the trunks below the level of the surface of the snow in the hollows round the stems, caused by the heat of the sun absorbed by their dark surfaces. It gave me a long chase, flying rapidly, but never rising higher than three or four feet above the level of the snow. At last I got a long shot at it. It was alive when I secured it ; and I re- marked its brilliant, large, pale, blood-red eye. The legs were brown, and the bill nearly black. I shot a second ex- ample on the 14th of June ; it was busily engaged in search- ing for insects, principally at the roots of trees. This was all I saw of this bird. Both my birds are males, but not in the fine metallic blue plumage which old birds attain. I was probably at the extreme limit of this bird's northern range. CALLIOPE CAMTCHATKENSIS (Grmel.). I only met with this very handsome bird once within the Arctic circle. This was on the 14th of June, whilst the ice was still straggling down the river. Early in the morning, before breakfast, Blue-throats were singing lustily. One bird 8 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. struck me as having a wonderfully fine song, richer and more melodious than that of the Blue-throat, and scarcely inferior to that of a Nightingale. I shot him to be quite sure that he was only a Blue-throat, and was astonished to pick up a fine male Ruby -throated Warbler. I did not meet with this bird again until I reached Yen-e-saisk' on my return journey. It was then the 16th of August, and I was exploring the reedy swamps near the river. My attention was attracted to a bird hidden among the Carices, which was uttering a very loud harsh cry, like tic, tic, tic. After waiting some time I got a shot at it in a tall bunch of rushes. I felt quite sure that the bird was a large Acrocephalus, and was astonished to find a second male Ruby-throat. SAXICOLA (ENANTHE (Linn,). The Wheatear arrived at our winter quarters on the 3rd of June, and was common as far north as we went. PRATINCOLA INDICA, Blyth. The Indian form of the Stonechat, with pure white un- spotted rump and nearly black axillaries, was rare. I noticed it first on the llth of June on the Arctic circle, and after- wards in lat. 67. SYLVIA CURRUCA, Linn., subspecies affinis, Blyth. I first noticed the Lesser Whitethroat on the 8th of June, and did not observe it further north than lat. 67. In ' Stray Feathers/ iii. p. 372, Mr. Brooks endeavours to show that the Indian bird differs from ours. Of the six differences which he there points out I cannot detect any but the first. There is no doubt that in the eastern bird the wing is generally somewhat more rounded than in the western form; but whether this is sufficient to entitle the two forms to specific rank I feel considerable doubt. In ten skins from England, Norway, Heligoland, Russia, Turkey, and Asia Minor, the second pri- mary is decidedly longer than the sixth. In one skin from India and one from the Yen-e-say' this is also the case. In five skins from India and five skins from the Yen-e-say' the second primary is shorter than the sixth, but longer than the seventh ; and in one skin from Cawnpore and one from Be- Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornitholoyy of Siberia. 9 loochistan the second primary is shorter than the seventh, but longer than the eighth. More evidence must, I think, be collected before we admit S. affinis even to be a satisfac- tory subspecies. PHYLLOSCOPUS BOREALIS (Blasius). A fortnight after the arrival of Phylloscopus trochilus, P. tristiSj and P. superciliosus I had given up P. borealis in despair, when suddenly it arrived in great numbers, and be- came the commonest of the four species. The song is almost exactly like the trill of the Redpole, but not quite so rapid, and a little more melodious. Its call-note is generally a single monotonous dzit, but sometimes made into a double note by dwelling on the first part, d 2, zit. It is less restless than the other Willow- Warblers, by no means shy, and is easy to shoot. When I left the Arctic circle it had probably not commenced to breed ; but on the 6th of July I had the good fortune to shoot a bird from its nest at Egaska, in lat. 67. The eggs are larger than those of our Willow-Warbler' s, pure white, and profusely spotted all over with very small and very pale pink spots. They were five in number. The nest was built on the ground in a wood thinly scattered with trees, and was placed in a recess on the side of a tussock or little mound of grass and other plants. It was semidomed, the outside being composed of moss, and the inside of fine dry grass. There was neither feather nor hair used in the con- struction. I did not see this bird further north than lat. 69. PHYLLOSCOPUS TROCHILUS (Linn.). " Sylvia icterina, Vieill.", Eversm. (nee Vieill.), Add. ad Pall. Zoogr. Rosso- As. fasc. iii. p. 14 (1842). Phyllopneuste eversmani, Bp. Consp. Gen. Avium, p. 289 (1850). It was with very great pleasure that I heard the familiar song of this European bird on the 4th of June on the Arctic circle, in the valley of the Yen-e-say', so much further east than it has hitherto been recorded. I afterwards found it common extending as far northwards as lat. 70. As this bird has never been found in India, it would seem probable that 10 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithologg of Siberia. the Yen-e-say' Willow- Warblers winter iu Persia, whence Blanford records them. In the St. -Petersburg Museum I had an opportunity of examining the type of Eversmann's Sylvia icterina, which was afterwards rechristened by Bonaparte Phyllopneuste evers- manni. I found it to be a typical specimen of Phylloscopus trochilus. PHYLLOSCOPUS TRISTIS, Blyth. The Siberian Chiffchaff arrived on the Arctic circle on the 4th of June, and was a common bird there until we left. Even before the snow was melted in the forests its cheerful chivit' -chivet' was constantly to be heard. When feeding it is a most restless bird, seeming always to be in a hurry, as if its object were to cover as much ground as possible. Later on in the season it was much less difficult to shoot. Although it arrives so early, it appears to be a late breeder. The first nest I found was on the 2nd of July in lat. 67. We were taking in ballast after our second narrow escape from ship- wreck. I went on shore for a few hour's shooting. Along- side the ship, on a grassy part of the river-bank, there were three Ost'-yak chooms, with a herd of about fifty reindeer. Fifty yards above this encampment the shore was very muddy, and between the river and the forest was a long gently sloping bank sprinkled over with willows. In these trees wisps of dry grass were hanging, caught between the forks of the branches, and left there after the high water had subsided. In one of these, about two feet from the ground, a Siberian Chiffchaff had built its nest, or rather it had appropriated one of them for its nest. There was scarcely any attempt at interlacing stalks. It was undoubtedly the most slovenly and the most loosely constructed nest I remember to have seen. It was scarcely more than a hole, about two and a half inches in diameter, with one side a little higher than the other. The entrance was somewhat smaller than the greatest size inside, which was very globular and carefully lined with Caper- calsie and Willow-Grouse feathers, plenty of which would naturally be found so near to an Ost'-yak choom. I shot Mr. II . Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 11 the bird from the nest, which contained three eggs. My next nest of this bird was taken on the 14th of July, and contained four eggs. It was placed in the branches of an alder-bush, about four feet from the ground, and within twenty yards of the water's edge. It was rather more carefully constructed than the one I previously found, and composed of dry grass, semidomed, and lined with Willow- Grouse feathers. The third nest I took on the island of Mah'-la Brek'-off-sky, about lat. 70^. This nest was similar in construction to the others, but was placed in the rank herbage within a few inches of the ground. The eggs in this and a fourth nest which I took the same day (July 15th), were somewhat incubated. The Siberian Chiffchaff lays a bold round egg, large for the size of the bird, pure white, spotted with dark purple-red, almost black. Sometimes the spots are of considerable size. I have no hesitation in saying that the eggs which Harvie-Brown and I brought from the Petchora, which we supposed to be eggs of this bird, were only unusually small varieties of those of the common Willow -War bier. I did not meet with the Siberian Chiffchaff further north than 70^; but on the return journey I continually met with it as far south as Yen-e-saisk'. On these occasions it was carefully tending its newly fledged young. Its plaintive mono- syllabic call-note was then often heard ; but it appeared to have dropped the chivit' chivet.' PHYLLOSCOPUS FUSCATUS, Blyth. On my return journey I spent a few days in the middle of August at Yen-e-saisk', devoting some time to the explora- tion of the banks of the Yen-e-say'. The country was almost flat, and for miles I wandered across an extent of meadow- land which had recently been cut for hay. This meadow- land is intersected with numerous half-dried- up river-beds running parallel to the Yen-e-say'. These river-beds are full of tall Carices and various water-plants, and are almost concealed by willow trees. Occasionally the water is open. One of the commonest birds in these swamps was Phyllo- scopus fuscatus ; what we saw were mostly young birds not fully fledged. 12 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. PHYLLOSCOPUS SUPERCILIOSUS (Gmel.). On the 4th of June, while the ill-fated ' Thames ' was in the agonies of its first shipwreck, I was delighted to have my attention called away by the note of this interesting bird, which I recognized at once as the same which I had heard* in Gaetke's garden on Heligoland the year before. It is very fairly represented by the word weest. The bird soon became very common, frequenting almost exclusively the pine-forests on the banks of the Koo-ray'-i-ka and the Yen- e-say'. It was not particularly shy ; and on more than one occasion I watched it for some time at a distance of only a few feet. On one occasion only I heard it make any attempt at a song; this was on the 21st of June. The bird was perched upon the extreme summit of a spruce, and stood shivering its wings, uttering a few plaintive notes, most of them poor and feeble variations on its call-note. On the 26th of June I was fortunate enough to find its nest. Curi- ously enough I was this time also in company with a Heligo- lander, Mr. Boiling, the ship-builder of Yen-e-saisk'. Late in the evening we were strolling through the forest between the Koo-ray'-i-ka and the Yen-e-say'. As we were walking along a little bird started up near us, and began most per- sistently to utter the well-known cry of the Yellow-browed Warbler. As it kept flying around us from tree to tree, we naturally came to the conclusion that it had a nest near. We searched for some time unsuccessfully, and then retired to a short distance, and sat down upon a tree-trunk to watch. The bird was very uneasy, but continually came back to a birch tree, from which it frequently made short flights to- wards the ground, as if it was anxious to return to its nest, but dare not whilst we were in sight. This went on for about half an hour, when we came to the conclusion that the nest must be at the foot of the birch tree, and commenced a second search. In less than five minutes I found the nest, with six eggs. It was built in a slight tuft of grass, moss, and bil- berries, semidomed, exactly like the nests of our Willow- Warblers. It was composed of dry grass and moss, and lined with reindeer-hair. The eggs were very similar in colour to Mr. H. Scebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 13 those of our Willow-Warbler, but more spotted than usual, and smaller in size. I did not meet with this bird further north than lat. 70, nor did I see it on the return voyage. ACROCEPHALUS SCHCENOB^ENUS (Linn.). It is rather remarkable that the Sedge- Warbler should have hitherto been overlooked in Siberia. It arrived on the Arctic circle on the 15th of June, and soon became very abundant ; but I did not observe it further north than lat. 67. ACROCEPHALUS DUMETORUM, Blyth. I did not meet with this bird until the 8th of August, on my return journey, in lat. 62, where it was evidently breeding. Lo^USTELLA CERTIIIOLA (Pall.). As I passed through Yen-e-saisk' on my return journey, towards the end of August, I found this rare Grasshopper- Warbler breeding in the swampy thickets near the banks of the river. The young in first plumage from this locality will be described and figured in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe/ I found it very shy and skulking in its habits. The young birds, some only half fledged, were still in broods ; and occa- sionally I got a shot at one which left the sedges and ventured into the willows. They were calling anxiously to each other, the note being a harsh tic, tic, tic. Authentic skins of this bird in first plumage, now for the first time obtained, are very interesting. They prove that the various skins to be fouud in collections labelled L. ocho- tensis by Dyboffsky, from Lake Baical, are simply the young of L. certhiola. The general colour of the under parts of the young in first plumage is buffish yellow, darkest on the breast and flanks, and inclining to chestnut on the under tail-coverts. In first winter plumage this yellow tinge is retained ; but it is lost in the spring moult, the general colour of the underparts being then buffish white, darkest on the breast, flanks, and under tail-coverts. A third state of plumage is that of the adult after the autumn moult, in which the buff" of the under- parts almost approaches chestnut. In this state (gradually becoming duller by abrasion as the winter wears on) it is the 14 Mr, H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. L. rubescens of Blyth. Jerdon seems to have been acquainted with all three states of plumage. The young and adult in summer plumage he describes under the name of L. certhiola (Pall.); but doubtful of the identity of the Siberian and Indian birds, he proposes the name of L. temporalis for the latter, in case they should afterwards be found to be distinct. The autumn plumage of the adult he describes as L. rubescens, Blyth, but alludes to that ornithologist's opinion that it might be identical with Pallas' s bird. Salvadori's Calamodyta dories is L. certhiola in winter plumage from Borneo. When I was in Paris 1'abbe David told me that the type of Locustella minor, David et Oustalet, was lost ; but he assured me, what I was already prepared to assert, that it is a bad species, and the name must sink into a synonym of L. certhiola. Full references to all these synonyms will appear in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe/ LOCUSTELLA OCHOTENSIS, Midd. Sylvia (Locustella) ochotensis, Midd. Sib. Eeis. ii. p. 185 (1851). Young in first plumage. Sylvia (Locustella) certhiola, Midd. Sib. Reis. ii. p. 184 (1851, nee Pall.). Adult. Locustella japonica, Cassin, Proc. Ac. Sc. Phil. 1858, p. 194. Young. Locustella subcerthiola, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 154. Adult. Arundinax blakistoni, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, p. 332. Young in first winter plumage. The synonymy of L. ochotensis and L. certhiola have hitherto been in such hopeless confusion that I am glad to have an opportunity of putting them in something like order. When I was in St. Petersburg the curator of the Museum, with the politeness so characteristic of the Russians, gave me every facility for inspecting types and other interesting skins in the collection. I found that all the skins collected by Mid- dendorff near the shores of the Sea of Ochotsk, labelled re- spectively L. certhiola and L. ochotensis, belonged to one species, the former being adult birds, and the latter young in first plumage. The difference between them lay solely in the Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 15 general colour of the underparts. This was huffish white in the adult birds, and huffish yellow in the young, precisely the difference which I had found only a few weeks before between the adult and young of the very closely allied L. certhiola. None of MiddendorfFs birds, however, were the true L. certhiola of Pallas. The name L. ochotensis, Midd., therefore stands for this species, with L. certhiola, Pall, apud Midd., as a synonym. Besides MiddendorfFs type I found a fine series of skins of this bird collected by Wosnessensky in Kamtchatka and the Kurile Islands. This bird differs from L. certhiola in having the upper parts plain, like L. luscini- oides, instead of spotted, like L. navia. Young birds have, however, traces of obscure spots on the head and back. In this state it was described by Cassin as L.japonica from Japan. The young in first winter plumage was described by Swinhoe as Arundinax blakistoni, from the same locality. One of Wosnessensky's skins from Kamtchatka came into Swinhoe's possession, and was described by him as L. subcerthiola. It is that of an adult bird, and agrees exactly with a skin in my collection collected by Wosnessensky on Urup island, one of the Kurile Islands, between Kamtchatka and Japan. In the British Museum is a skin from Labuan, in Borneo, where this species winters. LOCUSTELLA FAscioLATA (Gray). Acrocephalusfasciolatus, Gray, P. Z. S. 1860, p. 349. Acrocephalus insularis, Wallace, Ibis, 1862, p. 350. Calamoherpefumigata, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1863, pp. 91, 293. Calamoherpe subflavescens, Elliot, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 243. It may at first sight appear a somewhat bold step to take to unite two species hitherto considered so distinct as A. fas- ciolatus and A. insularis, and a still bolder one, after having married the two species, to send them to spend their honey- moon in the genus Locustella. The fact is that they agree in every particular, except in the colour of the underparts. The difference of colour, however, is exactly what we have just found to be the difference between young and adult plu- mage in two species of the genus Locustella. I have already 16 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. given my reasons in the last number of ' The Ibis ' for placing this species in that genus. In the Museum at St. Petersburg are two very beautiful skins of adult birds of this species from the Ussuri river. Young birds have been obtained by Dy- boffsky in Daouria, and have been described by Elliot as C. subflavescens from the same locality. Swinhoe described the adult passing through China on migration, as C.fumigata, and also recorded it from Japan. Wallace described A. insular is from Gilolo and Morty; and Gray described his A. fasciolatus from skins collected by Wallace in Batchian, Gi- lolo, and Morty. I think I may fairly claim that all the known facts of the geographical distribution of these two birds are in favour of my theory that they are young and adult of one species. ACCENTOR MONTANELLUS (Pall.). I first noticed this bird on the 19th of June, a quiet skulk- ing bird, rarely seen on the wing, and principally frequenting the willows near the banks of the Yen-e-say'. Four days afterwards I had a long chase on the Koo-ray'-i-ka side of the river after a bird whose song I had frequently heard before. It was a short unpretentious song, something like that of our Hedge-Sparrow. The bird was generally on the top of a high tree, where it sang its short song, and went onto another tree. At last I succeeded in shooting it from the top of a pine, and was astonished to find it the Mountain- Accentor. I did not meet with it again until I reached lat. 70J, where I found it breeding in the island of Mah'-laBrek'-off-sky. Here it was skulking among the willows, like a Grasshopper- Warbler. The nest was within a foot of the ground ; but I was so worried with mosquitoes that I neglected to note the materials of which it was composed. The eggs are blue, like those of our Hedge-Sparrow. I did not meet with it further north. HIRUNDO RUSTICA, Linn. On the IGth of May a solitary Barn-Swallow appeared. I did not see another until we were within a hundred miles of Yen-e-saisk' on the return journey. At that town they were common enough. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 17 CHELIDON LAGOPODA (Pall.). In the ' Proceedings ' of the Zoological Society, 1862, p. 320, Swinhoe described a Martin which differs from ours in having the upper tail-coverts white to the tips of the feathers, and the axillaries and wing-lining dark brown. He gave it the name of C. whitelyi; but in ' The Ibis/ 1874, p. 152, he pointed out that it is identical with the Hirundo lagopoda of Pallas. This bird was the only Chelidon which I obtained on the Yen- e-say'. Several pairs arrived on the Arctic circle on the llth of June, and were soon busy hawking for flies and examining their old nests. In the village of Koo-ray'-i-ka, opposite the mouth of the river of that name, they swarmed in thousands. The nest exactly resembles that of our House-Martin; but the birds seemed to be very capricious in selecting a house where they might trust their young. One house in particular seemed to be the favourite ; and here the eaves were crowded with rows of nests, in some places three or four deep. The eggs are, if any thing, larger than those of our bird, but also pure white. I observed this bird up to lat. 69, where a few pairs were breeding. I could not perceive any difference in the habits or notes of these birds and those of our own species. On the return journey I noticed a colony, doubtless of these birds, which had built their nests against the limestone cliffs of the Kah'-nin Pass, as our bird frequently does in the limestone districts of Yorkshire, the Parnassus, &c. As I passed through Yen-e-saisk' in the middle of August, the House-Martins were swarming on the church-towers, preparing for departure on their autumn migration. When these Swallows began to make preparations for breed- ing, the ' Thames ' was riding at anchor in the Koo-ray'-i-ka. Some scores of these birds evidently took a great fancy to the ship, and began to build their nests on the sails under the yardarms. COTYLE RIPARIA, Linn. The Sand-Martin arrived on the Arctic circle on the 9th of June. Both on the banks of the Ob and the Yen-e-say' large colonies of these birds were frequent. I did not see SER. iv. VOL. in. c 18 Mr. H. Seebohm on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's any further north than lat. 67. Siberian birds, like those of North Europe, are somewhat darker brown above and purer white below than our Sand-Martin. [To be continued.] II. Remarks on Messrs. Blakislon and Fryer's Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. By HENRY SEEBOHM. (Plate I.) THROUGH the kindness of the Editors of ' The Ibis ' two small collections of birds from Japan have been placed in my hands for examination. The first collection contains 38 skins, sent by Mr. Blakiston from Hakodate for identification, to which Mr. Pryer has added 12 skins at Yokohama. The second collection contains 64 skins, and is the result of a visit paid by Mr. Hey wood Jones to the village of Shim- bashiri, about 2000 feet above the level of the sea, on the volcanic mountain of Fusiyama, near Yokohama. The numbers and the names in the subjoined remarks are those used in the ' Catalogue of the Birds of Japan,' by Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer, published in 'The Ibis' of last year (pp. 209-250). The birds of Japan possess a special interest to the British ornithologist. These islands occupy a somewhat analogous position on the east of the mainland of the Palsearctic region to our own islands on the west of the same great zoological district. Similar facts of geographical situation appear to have produced similar results in the two groups of islands, namely the presence of insular forms differing too slightly from the continental types to admit them to specific distinc- tion. In order that these interesting facts should not be lost sight of, I have been obliged to admit the use of sub- specific names. It is the boast of British ornithologists that their system of nomenclature is binomial. When Linnaeus substituted a word instead of a sentence to designate a spe- cies, he made an immense stride towards simplicity of nomen- clature. The practice of Brisson and the earlier ornitholo- Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 147 quadricolor, Carpophaga pulchella, and Criniger aureus proved to be new to science, as well as many more species from Celebes itself, a list of which I have given in the ' Journal fur Ornithologie ' (1873, p. 404), as well as a list of birds not known from Celebes before my sojourn there. XI. Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. By HENRY SEEBOHM. [Continued from p. 18.] TETRAO UROGALLUS, Linn. The Capercailzie was not nearly so common as the Black Grouse ; but I succeeded in obtaining two males and two females. I shot the first female on the 29th of April. In this bird the feathers on the feet extended halfway down the last joint of the toes, within a quarter of an inch of the claws. The second example was shot on the 10th of June ; and the feathers on the feet extended only halfway down the first joint of the toes, nearly an inch and a half from the claws. The crops of these birds were full of the spine-like leaves of the cedar and Scotch fir. I saw no trace of T. urogalloides. TETRAO TETRIX, Linn. Black Grouse were common during our stay at Koo-ray'- i-ka. They appeared to find abundance of food in the buds of the birch and hazel in 'the severest weather. It was not an uncommon thing to see half a dozen of them in one tree together. We saw no more of them after passing the limit of forest-growth. TETRASTES BOXASIA (Linn.). I shot the first pair of Hazel- Grouse on the 3rd of May, and occasionally picked up a pair afterwards. On the 25th of June I took a nest with eight eggs. These birds were very easy to shoot. When disturbed from the ground they took refuge in a tree, where they allowed themselves to be easily stalked, not appearing to be alarmed at the rattling of my snow-shoes on the hard crust of the snow. The sailors told me they had been common in the autumn, but had disappeared 148 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. in the severest part of the winter. Their crops were full of the buds of birch and hazel. LAGOPUS ALBUS (Gm.) . The Willow-Grouse is a migratory bird in Siberia. It breeds on the tundra, and winters in the forests. As we sledged down the Yen-e-say' in April we once or twice saw flocks of these birds flying northwards, apparently on migra- tion. The sailors told me that Willow-Grouse were common at the Koo-ray'-i-ka in autumn, but disappeared in midwinter. The first I shot was on the 15th of May. It was in full winter plumage, except a band of chestnut feathers round the neck ; but on raising the white feathers on the crown the new crop of chestnut feathers was visible. I very seldom saw a bird until the ice on the river began to break up, when they were more plentiful for a week or two, after which they disappeared from the forests. A bird I shot on the 6th of June was in full winter plumage, except a chestnut ring round the neck, a sprinkling of chestnut fea- thers on the crown, and two or three chestnut feathers on the shoulders and scapulars. On the 4th of July, in lat. 67, where patches of tundra were found between the forest and the river, I found them breeding in full summer plumage. On the 22nd of July, in lat. 71 J, they had young. LAGOPUS RUPESTRIS, Gm. Professor Newton was the first to point out to me the fact that my Yen-e-say' skins labelled L. mutus were not that bird, but most probably L. rupestris. I brought home two males and a female, all shot on the 22nd of July, in lat. 71J, four or five hundred feet above the level of the sea. I also brought home a skin in winter plumage in which the space between the eye and the bill is black ; but as I bought it in a frozen state on the Arctic circle, it may have been brought down from a locality much further north. The female differs from a female of L. albus, shot on the same day in the valley, in having a slenderer bill, and in having the feathers of the back mostly tipped with white, and rarely with ochraceous, whereas in the Willow- Grouse they Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 149 are mostly tipped with ochraceous, rarely with white. The males difter from the female in having the ochraceous bars narrower, more numerous, and interrupted, making the general effect of the plumage of the upper parts darker and richer. The throat and breast are rather paler than the back. The belly and under tail-coverts of one are white, and in the other the feathers on the flanks are half white and half mot- tled black and ochraceous, on the under tail-coverts all mot- tled, and on the belly half white and half mottled ash-grey and ochraceous. So far as I know, this is the first record of this species on the mainland of the Palsearctic region. In size my skins of this bird are smaller than those of the Willow-Grouse, measuring in length of wing 7-J to 7f inches against 7 j to 8 inches (measured with a tape across the upper surface of the wing). BOTAURUS STELLABIS (Linn.). I brought home the skin of a Bittern which I found hang- ing up in a peasant's house in a little village on the banks of the Yen-e-say', in lat. 64. The peasant told me that he had shot it in the neighbourhood some time during the previous summer. GRUS COMMUNIS, Bechst. I first observed the Crane about lat. 60 on my return journey up the Yen-e-say' on the 12th of August, when small parties were migrating southwards. I frequently saw these birds at Yen-e-saisk' during the few days I remained at that town ; and afterwards they were not uncommon on the Ob and the Too'-ra. GRUS LEUCOGERANUS, Pall. A small flock of four or five of these handsome birds flew leisurely over our steamer as we were threading the labyrinths of the Too'-ra. During flight they appeared to be pure white all over, except the outside half of each wing, which looked jet-black. TRINGA TEMMINCKI, Leisl. As soon as the snow had melted on the baiiks of the river, 150 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. so that patches of bare grass were visible in favourable places, these oases were visited by small parties of Temminck's Stints. I shot the first on the 6th of June. Most of these birds mi- grated further north ; but a few remained to breed, and on the 24th I found a nest containing two eggs on the south bank of the Koo-ray'-i-ka. Further north, wherever we landed on the shores of the river or on the islands of the delta, Temminck's Stint was by far the commonest Sandpiper. I brought home several sit- tings of its eggs, both from the Brek'-off-sky islands in lat. 70^, and from Gol-cheek'-a, in lat. 71^. On my return journey I found it plentiful on the banks of the Yen-e-say' in in lat. 58 in the middle of August. These birds had pro- bably not bred so far south, but were most likely slowly mi- grating southwards towards their winter quarters. TRINGA MINUTA, Leisl. I did not see any trace of the Little Stint until I reached Gol-cheek'-a, in lat. 71$, on the 19th of July. It was then too late for eggs. I had, however, been fortunate enough to charter a Samoyade, who brought me a couple of baskets full of unblown eggs. In this collection were nine eggs so exactly like those of the Little Stint which Harvie Brown and I ob- tained near the banks of the lagoon of the Petchora, that I only required to see the birds in the neighbourhood to feel sure of their identity. I spent the following day on the tundra, and secured two female Little Stints; and on the 22nd I secured a male of this species. TRINGA SUBARQTJATA, Giild. On the 15th of June I obtained a fine Curlew Sandpiper in full breeding-plumage at the village of Koo-ray'-i-ka, on the Arctic circle. It was doubtless en route for its breeding- grounds, nearer the sea than I was able to get, as I saw nothing more of this interesting species. The eggs of this bird and those of the Knot are now the two great prizes left for British oologists to try and secure. Drs. Finsch and Brehm found the Curlew Sandpiper breeding- in great numbers about the 1st of August on the isthmus of Mr. H. Seebohm oti the Ornithology of Siberia. 151 the Yalmal peninsula, near the margins of the lakes on the tundra, about lat. 67|. They were too late for eggs, but had young in down in their hands. The mosquitoes, how- ever, were so overwhelming that these adventurous ornitho- logists failed to bring home any specimens of this still un- known state of plumage. Capt. Feilden was more fortunate with the Knot. He brought home young in down ob- tained during the late Arctic Expedition. This bird was breeding in lat. 82 i, on the shores of the Polar basin, a little to the north of Cape Union ; and the young in down were obtained on the 30th of July. It was also breeding on both shores of the channel at Thank- God Harbour and Discovery Bay, in lat. 81}. TRINGA ALPINA, Linn. I saw nothing of the Dunlin until the 14th of July, when I shot a couple of males in lat. 69; and four days later I shot a male and female in lat. 71 4. With these birds were young in down. I am indebted to my friend Mr. Charles Murray Adamson, of Newcastle, who has paid great attention for many years to the changes in the plumage of the Waders, for pointing out to me the interesting fact that these birds are all moulting nearly the whole of their primaries at once, to such an extent as to incapacitate them for extended flight, and at a much earlier period than is the case in this country. Mr. Adamson suggests that in the high latitudes, where the summer is so short, the parent birds probably migrate with their young, instead of a fortnight later, as is usually observed in this country, Heligoland, &c. To enable them to do so the autumn moult must take place at an earlier date. MACHETES PUGNAX (Linn.). The Ruff was a common bird in the valley of the Yen-e-say'. I shot the first on migration on the 9th of June on the Arctic circle ; and afterwards I met with them wherever there was long grass in the swamps of the tundra as far north as I travelled. ACTITIS HYPOLEUCA (Linn.). I shot the first Common Sandpiper on the 12th of June, 152 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. and found it frequent on the banks of the river wherever I went. TEREKIA CINEREA (Giild.). The Terek Sandpiper arrived at our quarters on the 8th of June, and was common on the banks of the river and islands as far north as lat. 70. LIMOSA LAPPONICA (Linn.) . The only trace of the Bar-tailed Godwit which came under my notice was a single bird which Schwanenberg's mate shot for me on the Brek'-koff-sky islands during the spring migration. TOTANUS GLAREOLA (Linn.). Next to Temminck's Stint the Wood-Sandpiper was by far the commonest Wader in the valley of the Yen-e-say'. I shot the first on the 6th of June at the Koo-ray'-i-ka, but did not meet with it north of lat. 69. TOTANUS OCHROPUS (Linn.) . I shot my first Green Sandpiper on the 15th of June, on the Arctic circle. It was by no means a common bird. On the 6th of July, at Egarka, in lat. 67, I found a nest of this bird in a willow tree, about six feet from the ground, con- taining one egg. I did not meet with it further north ; but on my return journey, early in August, I found it common on the banks of the river near Yen-e-saisk'. VANELLUS VULGARIS, Bechst. I did not meet with the Lapwing until we had nearly reached Tyu-mane' on the return journey. CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS, Linn. I shot the first Golden Plover on the banks of the Koo- ray'-i-ka on the 7th of June, and found it common on the tundra as far north as we went. On the return journey I spent some hours near Vare'-shin-sky, in lat. 69, on the 29th of July, and saw several pairs of Golden Plovers. They were very anxious to lead me away from their young. Occa- sionally they uttered their plaintive cry from the ground, but Mr. H. Seebohin on the Ornithology of Siberia. 153 more often from the summit of a larch tree. I shot oue from the top of a larch at least fourteen feet from the ground. CHARADRIUS FULVUS, Gmel. On the 5th of June I had the pleasure of shooting my first Asiatic Golden Plover. This bird is at once distinguishable from the last-mentioned species by its smaller size, and grey instead of white axillaries. A third distinction may also be found in the comparatively longer tarsus of the eastern bird. In its voice it exactly resembles the Grey Plover. I noticed all the three variations with which I am so familiar in the note of the latter bird, but remarked that the third variation, which I take to be a combination of the two others more rapidly uttered (see Dresser's ' Birds of Europe/ Appendix to the article on Squatarola helvetica), is much more frequently uttered by the Asiatic Golden Plover than by the Grey Plover. I secured many specimens of this interesting bird as it passed the Koo-ray'-i-ka on migration. I did not observe it again until we reached lat. 69J, on the open tundra just beyond the limit of forest-growth. Not a trace of a pine tree was to be seen ; and the birches had dwindled down to stunted bushes scarcely a foot high. I took a nest of Turdus fuscatus with young birds as I climbed up the steep bank where alders and willows still flourished luxuriantly, and had scarcely reached the top before I heard the cry of a Plover. The tundra was hilly, with lakes and swamps and bogs in the wide valleys and plains. I found myself upon an excellent piece of Plover-ground, covered more with moss and lichen than with grass, sprinkled with patches of bare pebbly ground, and interspersed with hummocky plains, where ground-fruits and gay flowers were growing. I soon caught sight of both male and female, and sat down with the intention of watching the latter onto the nest. After wasting half an hour, during which the bird wandered uneasily round and round me with- out showing any partiality for a special locality, I came to the conclusion, either that the eggs were hatched, in which case my watching was in vain, or that I was so near the nest that the female dare not come on. The male had a splendid 154 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. black belly ; and I decided to take my first good chance of a shot at him, and then to devote another half hour to a search for the nest. He proved to be, as I suspected, the Asiatic Golden Plover, with grey axillaries. My search for the nest was a very short one. I found it in less than five minutes, within a dozen yards of my position. It was a mere hollow in the ground upon a piece of turfy land, overgrown with moss and lichen ; and it was lined with broken stalks of rein- deer moss. The eggs, four in number, were a size smaller than those of the Golden Plover, averaging If x 1^. (Eggs of the Golden Plover from the same locality average 2^ x 1J.) These eggs were taken on the 13th of July, and were very much incubated. Among the eggs which had been collected for me at Gol- checka was a second sitting of Asiatic Golden Plover's. Here the bird was extraordinarily common. I tried to watch several birds onto the nest, but in every case without success. They behaved exactly as if they had young. I succeeded in catching one young bird in down, and reluctantly came to the conclusion that I was too late (on the 20th of July) for eggs. The young in down is quite as yellow as that of the Golden Plover. In ' The Ibis' for 1863, p. 404, Swinhoe represents this bird as breeding plentifully on Formosa. The eggs are described as measuring If g x 1^ . These eggs are still in the Swinhoe collection, and average l^J x 1^. They exactly resemble my eggs in colour, but are much smaller and rounder at the small end. Two other eggs in the same collection, of exactly the same colour and shape, and from the same locality, are marked jEgialitis geoffroii. These two eggs are a shade smaller, measuring 1J^ x 1 ; but I am induced to think that Swinhoe has been led astray by his collectors, and that all these Formosa eggs belong to M. geoffroii. Swinhoe further states that C. fulvus is common on Formosa " all the year round/' Unfor- tunately the skins of this bird from Formosa in the Swinhoe collection are not dated. I have no doubt that great numbers of this bird pass through Formosa in breeding-plumage in spring, and again in winter plumage in autumn. Some may very Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 155 probably winter in so southern a station as Formosa; and after what Capt. Legge tells me of similar occurrences in Ceylon, I can imagine that barren birds in imperfect breeding- plumage may not unfrequently be found during summer in their winter quarters ; but I scarcely think it possible that C. fulvus breeds south of the Arctic circle, at least three thousand miles further north than Formosa. If any of these Formosan eggs are those of JE.geoffroii, it is evidence, as far as it goes, that this bird is a Eudromias, and not an JEgialitis ; for they are almost miniatures of the eggs of the Dotterel, E.morinellus. EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS (Linn.). Small parties of Dotterel appeared from the 9th of June for about a week at the Koo-ray'-i-ka. I did not meet with this species again until the 25th of July, on my return journey, when, in lat. 71, I shot a male and picked up a young bird in half down and half feathers. ^EGIALITIS HIATICULA (Linn.). The Ringed Plover arrived on the 8th of June at our winter quarters, and was common as far north as I went (lat. 7H). PHALAROPUS HYPERBOREUS (Linn.). The Red-necked Phalarope arrived at the Koo-ray'-i-ka on the 15th of June, and was abundant as far north as I went. GALLINAGO STENURA (Kuhl). The first Wader which arrived at our winter quarters on the Arctic circle was the Pin-tailed Snipe. We shot a couple on the fifth of June, three days after the ice began to break up on the great river. Three days later they were exceed- ingly common on the oases of bare grass which the sun had been able to make in a few favourable situations in the midst of the otherwise universal desert of melting snow. I could easily have shot a score a day if I had had cartridges to spare. They used to come wheeling round, uttering a loud and rather shrill cry (some idea of which may be gathered by the sound of the word peezh, long drawn out) ; then they used to drop down with a great whirr of wings, and with tail outspread 156 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. an operation which seemed so engrossing that they appeared seldom to discover until they were on the ground that they had chosen a spot to alight within twenty yards of a man with a gun. It was amusing to see them find out their mis- take. Sometimes as soon as they caught my eye they would take wing and fly quietly away ; but more often they would hurry off as fast as their legs would carry them, and hide behind a tuft of grass or a bush. I never heard the Pin-tailed Snipe " drum," as the Common Snipe often does, when wheel- ing round and round at a considerable height in the air ; nor did I ever hear the tyik-tyuk so characteristic of the Common Snipe. I think the Pin-tailed Snipe is much easier to shoot than our bird. The flight seems to me slower and less zigzag. GALLINAGO SCOLOPACINA, Bonap. The Common Snipe was either much rarer or much more wary than the Pin-tailed Snipe ; for out of twenty skins which I brought home with me four proved to be those of G. sco- lopacina, and sixteen those of G. stenura. They probably arrive on the Arctic circle at the same time, as my first Pin- tailed Snipe was shot on the 5th of June and my first Com- mon Snipe on the 9th. I found a nest of the Common Snipe in a marsh on the outskirts of the forest in lat. 67 on the 6th of July. The eggs were considerably incubated. I can find no differences in size or general coloration in these two Snipes ; but a minute examination discloses the following cha- racters : My skins of G. scolopacina vary in length of culmen from 2'87 to 3 inches, whilst those of G. stenura only mea- sure from 2*33 to 2*73. G. stenura may be always at once recognized by the very narrow and stiff feathers on each side of the tail. The tail of this bird is also shorter, in my skins varying from 1*65 to 1*9. In my skins of G. scolopacina the length of the tail varies from 2*4 to 2*6. In G. stenura the under wing-coverts are all distinctly barred with black, whilst in G. scolopacina many of them are pure white. These two species of Snipe probably breed north of the Arctic circle, as I saw nothing more of them at the Koo-ray'-i-ka after the middle of June. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 157 GALLINAGO MAJOR (Gmelin) . Six days after the arrival of the Pin-tailed Snipe the Double Snipe appeared in considerable numbers, and soon became by far the commonest species. In the evenings I used some- times to watch these birds through my binocular. With a little caution I found it easy to get very near them ; and fre- quently I have sat partially concealed between a couple of willow bushes attentively turning my glass on two or three pairs of these birds, all within fifteen or twenty yards of me. They used to stretch out their necks, throw back the head almost onto the back, and open and shut their beaks rapidly, uttering a curious noise, like running one's finger along the edge of a comb. This was sometimes accompanied by a short flight or by the spreading of the wings and tail. The Double Snipe is by no means shy, and allows of a near approach. When it gets up from the ground it rises with a whirr of the wings like that of a Grouse, but not so loud. The Double Snipe probably breeds on the Arctic circle, as it still frequented the marshy ground near the Koo-ray'-i-ka when we weighed anchor in the ill-starred ' Thames ' on the 29th of June, and I found it still frequenting the same locality when I returned in the ' Yen-e-say ' on the 2nd of August. CYGNUS MDSICUS, Bechst. I did not succeed in identifying the common Wild Swan in the valley of the Yen-e-say 7 . Every skin which I had an opportunity of examining proved to be that of Bewick's Swan ; every footprint in the sand which I measured was that of Bewick's Swan ; and all the eggs I obtained agreed in size with those of Bewick's Swan which Harvie Brown and I obtained in the Petchora, and were too small for those of the larger species. Nevertheless there cannot be any doubt that Cygnus musicus is found in the valley of the Yen-e-say', since Middendorff found it still further to the east, and it is com- mon on the Amur. I examined a number of skins at various stations between Tomsk and Tobolsk, and found both species represented in nearly equal numbers. SER. IV. VOL. III. N 158 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. CYGNUS MINOR, Pall. We saw the first Swan on the Koo-ray'-i-ka on the 5th of May ; but it was not before the 31st of that month that Swans passed over in any number. After the latter date thousands passed us, all flying north. I brought several eggs of Bewick's Swan home with me, obtained in lat. 69 J. I found the easiest way of identifying these birds was by measuring their footprints in the sand. From the centre of the ball of the heel to the centre of the ball next the claw of the middle toe, the impression of the foot of Bewick's Swan measures 5J inches, whilst that of the common Wild Swan measures upwards of 6 inches. Even in very slight impres- sions on hard wet sand I found it easy to make these measure- ments. ANSER SEGETUM, Gmel. The first Goose was seen at our winter quarters on the 9th of May. Whenever the weather was mild during May small parties of Geese flew over the ship in a northerly direction. When the wind changed and brought us a couple of days' frost or snow, we used to see the poor Geese migrating south- wards again. The great annual battle of the Yen-e-say' lasted longer than usual the year that I was there. We had alternate thaws and frosts during the last three weeks of May. Summer seemed to be always upon the point of vanquishing winter, but only to be driven back again with redoubled vigour. During all this time there must have been thousands and tens of thousands of Geese hovering on the skirts of winter, continually impelled northwards by their instincts, penetrating wherever a little open water or an oasis of grass was visible in the boundless desert of ice and snow, and continually driven southwards again by hard frosts or fresh falls of snow. It was not until the ice on the great river broke up that the great body of Geese finally passed northwards. On my return journey I had an opportunity of again witnessing a great stampede of Geese on the tundra in full moult and unable to fly. The first time I witnessed this interesting sight was near the delta of the Petchora two years previously. Then it was Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 159 on the 27th of July, and in the valley of the Yen-e-say' on the 25th of that month. ANSER ERYTHROPUS, Linn. On the 1st of June a small flock of Geese passed close over my head as I was lying hors de combat in a snow bank, the treacherous crust of which had given way and left me strug- gling up to my breast endeavouring to extricate myself with- out wetting my gun. These Geese were smaller than the Bean-Goose, and showed some black on the belly. I after- wards shot some of the same species and brought two skins home, which proved to be the Little White-fronted Goose. BERNICLA RUFICOLLIS (Pall.). On the 1st of July the two mates belonging to Capt. Schwanenberg's schooner were out on the next island to that where their unfortunate vessel was lying wrecked. I had chartered them to collect eggs for me on the Brek'-off-sky islands in the Yen-e-say', in lat. 70i. They were fortunate enough on that day to come suddenly upon a Red-necked Goose upon her nest. They shot her before she flew off, and, unfortunately, broke one of the two eggs upon which she was sitting. The other egg is now in my collection. It measures 2f - by If $, and is of a dirty-white colour, more or less in- clining to cream-colour. On the 28th of July, as we were slowly steaming up the river, against stream and close inshore, I saw several of these very handsome birds with their young broods on the banks of the river. The captain was very anxious to get to Du- dinka before Sot-ni-kofFs steamer arrived there ; so there was no possibility of going on shore. This was a few miles south of the island where my egg was taken. ANAS CLYPEATA, Linn. I shot a fine male Shoveller on the tundra near the village of Koo-ray'-i-ka on the 18th of June. This was a piece of moorland surrounded with forest, where many species of Duck were breeding. I very seldom saw this species in the valley of the Yen-e-say'. N2 160 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. ANAS CRECCA, Linn. As soon as the ice broke up on the river, Teal became very numerous ; and on the 20th of June I took a nest with two eggs. I took the last Teal's nest on the 15th of July, in lat. 70|, with fresh eggs. ANAS ACUTA, Linn. The Pintail was one of the commonest Ducks on the Yen- e-say'. I took a nest with six eggs on the 20th of June. ANAS PENELOPE, Linn. The Widgeon was very common at our winter quarters as soon as the ice began to break up ; and its weird cry, mee'-yoo, harmonized with the grating of the pack-ice and the splashing of the " calving " icebergs. I took the first nest, with seven eggs, on the 18th of June. ANAS BOSCHAS, Linn. The only example of the Wild Duck which I procured was a female which I shot near Yen-e-saisk' on my return journey. FULIGULA MARILA (Linn.) . I did not succeed in shooting a Scaup, but frequently recog- nized their harsh screams. FULIGULA CLANGULA (Linn.) . The Golden-eye was not uncommon at the Koo-ray'-i-ka. I had a nest with thirteen eggs brought me on the 17th of June. HARELDA GLACIALIS (Linn.). The Long-tailed Duck was common on the lakes on the tundra. (EDEMIA NIGRA (Linn.). Black Scoters were abundant at the Koo-ray'-i-ka, but so wary that I was never able to get within shot of them. MERGUS ALBELLUS (Linn.) . I never actually shot a Smew on the Yen-e-say', but had several opportunities of identifying the bird beyond doubt. MERGUS MERGANSER (Linn.). The Goosander was not uncommon at the Koo-ray'-i-ka ; and I brought home several skins of this handsome Duck. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 161 MERGUS SERRATOR (Linn.). The Red-breasted Merganser was common near the village of Koo-ray'-i-ka. I brought home skins of males in two plu- mages and one of a female. SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS (Linn.) . Kitmanoff, the captain and part owner of the steamer ' Yen-e-say V in which I returned from Gol-cheek'-a to Yen- e-saisk, had a King Eider stuffed in his cabin. He told me it was shot at Gol-cheek'-a. Capt. Wiggins told me this bird breeds in great numbers together with the common Eider on a large island in the By-der-at'-sker-y bay. Both these birds are probably exclusively maritime in their habits, and are only accidentally seen so far from the coast. COLYMBUS ADAMSI, Gray. Besides the Black-throated and Red-throated Divers, I was frequently told of a still larger species of Ga-gar'-a with a white bill which frequented the lakes on the tundra. COLYMBUS ARCTICUS, Linn. The Black-throated Diver was very common on the Yen- e-say 7 from the Koo-ray'-i-ka to Gol-cheek'-a. COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS, Linn. The Red-throated Diver was not quite so common as the preceding species. The cries of these birds, exactly like the screams of a child in great pain, were constantly heard during the grand crash of ice in which our first shipwreck occurred. STERNA MACRURA, Naum. On the 6th of June I saw the first Arctic Tern, and found it abundant in various localities further north. LARUS CANUS, Linn. The Common Gull arrived at the Koo-ray'-i-ka on the 1st of June, and remained to breed. I got fresh eggs on the 17th of June. As in the Petchora, so also in the Yen-e-say' valley, I noticed its somewhat singular habit of perching in trees. I did not observe this species of Gull on the tundra. LARUS GLAUCUS, Fabr. I did not succeed in shooting a bird of this species ; but on 162 Mr. H. Seebohni on the Ornithology of Siberia. several occasions I saw large Gulls without the black tips to the wing-feathers, which were doubtless L. glaucus. LARUS AFFINIS, Reinhardt. This yellow-legged Herring-Gull, with a mantle nearly as dark as that of L.fuscus, was first seen on the 31st of May. During the breaking up of the ice the wild cries of these birds were an appropriate accompaniment to the grand crash which shipwrecked us in the Koo-ray'-i-ka. As the ice broke up further north these Gulls left us ; and we saw them no more until we reached lat. 69. Here a large colony frequented an island in the river where several parties of Russians and Ost'- yaks were fishing. This colony was almost entirely composed of birds in immature plumage ; and there was nothing to lead us to suppose that any of them were breeding. Between lat. 70i and 71J we passed several breeding-stations of these birds, where it was a very rare thing to see a Gull in imma- ture plumage. I should have been too late to secure fresh eggs of this species; but, fortunately, I had chartered a Russian at Brek'-oif-sky and a Samoyede at Gol-cheek'-a to collect for me, and at each station I found a large basket of unblown eggs. As might have been expected, they vary somewhat in size and colour, and are not distinguishable from eggs of L. fuscus or L. argentatus. So far as it is possible to compare the cries of birds from memory, I may confidently affirm that these do not vary from those of L. argentatus or L. cachinnans. When I was in St. Petersburg Russow was kind enough to unpack for me the whole of the splended series of Gulls in the Museum, which gave me an opportunity of obtaining some valuable information as to the geographical distribution of these closely allied species. Larus affinis appears to breed in the extreme north of Europe and Asia from the White Sea to Kamchatka. It has been obtained in the breeding-season on Bear Island, south of Solovetsk, in the White Sea (Midd., in Mus Petr.), on the Petchora (Seebohm fyHarvie Brown), on the Ob (Finsch fy Brehm), on the Yen-e-say 7 , on the Boganida and Taimyr, near the North-east Cape (Midd., in Mus. Petr.), Mr. H. Seebohra on the Ornithology of Siberia. 163 and in Kamchatka (Kittlitz, in Mus. Petr. fide Schrenk). In spring and autumn on migration it has been found in the Caspian Sea (Karelin, in Mus. Petr.) and at Ayan, in the Sea of Okotsk ( Wosnessensky , in Mus. Petr.). The type of this species is a skin from Greenland ; and it is described as not uncommon at St. Michael's, in Alaska ; but until we have evidence that it breeds on the American continent we can scarcely consider it as more than an occasional visitant there. LARUS CACHINNANS, Pall. Larus affinis is, par excellence, the Arctic Herring-Gull. L. cach'mnans might with equal propriety be called the Lake Herring-Gull. It appears to confine itself during the breed- ing-season to lakes, rivers, and inland seas. It is the common Herring-Gull of the Mediterranean, the only species known at St. Petersburg, and the only species known to breed in the Caspian Sea (Radde Karelin, in Mus. Petr.) . It is found in the breeding- season near the Aral Sea (Sever tz off, in Mus. Petr.), Lake Saissan (Finsch fy Brehm), S.E. Mongolia (Preje- valsky, in Mus. Petr.), Lake Baical and the island of Olchon, in a lake to the south-east (Radde 3 in Mus. Petr.) . This Gull has yellow legs when fully adult, with a mantle intermediate in shade between that of L. argentatus and L. affinis. Mr. Howard Saunders has also pointed out to me the difference in the respective lengths of the tarsus and the middle toe, including the claw. In L. fuscus and L. affinis the tarsus is longer than the foot, whereas in L. cachinnans and L. argentatus the con- trary is the case. In L. fuscus and L. affinis it is the excep- tion for the second primary to have a subterminal white spot, whilst in L. cachinnans and L. argentatus it is the rule. In the St. -Petersburg Museum there are three skins of L. occidentalis collected by Wosnessensky on the coast of Southern California. This is a large form of L. fuscus, with a short thick bill, very dark mantle, no wedge-shaped markings on the primaries, and, as far as one can judge from dried skins, very yellow legs. There is also a skin obtained by Wosnes- sensky at Kodiak, on the North-American coast, which looks like a skin of L. argentatus. [To be continued,] 164 Mr. F. Nicholson on some Birds from Western Java. XII. On a Collection of Birds made by the late Mr. E. C. But- ton in Western Java. By FRANCIS NICHOLSON,, F.Z.S. THE unfortunate dispersion of Mr. Wallace's valuable Javan collection without the publishing of a scientific record of its contents has been a source of regret to many ornitho- logists, since no complete list of the birds of this island has yet been compiled. Feeling sure that the time is not far dis- tant when a work on the Javan avifauna will be a necessity, I venture to put forward a small contribution to this work, by giving a list of the birds collected for me in Western Java by my late friend Mr. E.G. Buxton. The collection was made in that part of Java opposite Lampong, in Sumatra, where Mr. Buxton obtained the important collection of skins de- scribed by the Marquis of Tweeddale in ' The Ibis ' for 1877, p. 283. Owing to want of time the birds were put into spirit, but have been cleverly manipulated since their arrival in England, and have turned out very fair specimens. I have followed Lord Tweeddale's paper as closely as possible, desi- ring to make the present essay, an account of Mr. Buxton's Javan collection, a supplement to his Sumatran collection described by the Marquis, to whose labours I am substantially indebted. I have also to thank Mr. Bowdler Sharpe, of the British Museun, for assisting me in my identifications ; and I have placed a complete series of the skins in the collection of that institution. I have also given references to Count Sal- vadorr's ' Uccelli di Borneo/ by far the most complete work on the avifauna of the Indo-Malayan region. TlGA JAVANENSIS. Tiff a javanensis (Ljungh), Salvad. Ann. Mus. Genov. v. p. 54; Tweedd. Ibis, 1877, p. 288. Meiglyptes tristis, Horsfield, Tr. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 177. A pair of birds, concerning which a few remarks are neces- sary. I compared them with the series of Meiglyptes in the British Museum j and I cannot allow that, if, as seems certain, I have before me the true M. tristis of Horsfield, the Ma- laccan and Bornean birds usually called M. tristis are really " Perroquet mascarin " of Brisson. 307 and described the various Parrots observed by him on the latter island, including one which is clearly the present bird (cf. Ibis, /. c. p. 286). As regards the systematic position of Mascarinus duboisi, the available material is so scanty that we shall probably never (for the bird is certainly extinct) be able to arrive at any satis- factory conclusion about it. In the form of the beak, the fea- thered nostrils and lores, the narrow orbital ring, and the structure of its feet, it more resembles the genera Tanygnathus and Palaornis than any of the African genera of Parrots now existing (Psiltacus, Coracopsis } Pceocephalus, and Agapornis) ; and the forms of the wings and tail point to a similar con- clusion. In its general coloration it is decidedly aberrant ; but the fact of its beak being red is also a confirmation of its Palseornithine affinities, Prof. Garrod having shown (P. Z. S. 1874, p. 598) that none* but species with normal carotids (a group including Pal&ornis, Tanygnathus, &c., but not Co- racopsis, Psittacus, and Pceocephalus) have their beaks so coloured. We already know that in both Mauritius and Rodriguez a very different genus f of Parrots existed in each island, along with a species of Palceornis, and therefore there is no primd facie reason against a similar state of things having also been the case in Bourbon. On the other hand there is no evidence that Coracopsis ever occurred in a state of nature on any of these three islands. To briefly recapitulate, then, I submit : (1) That the " Perroquet mascarin " of Brisson belongs to a genus, Mascarinus, distinct from Coracopsis. (2) That, failing any older name that can with propriety be applied to it, it may be termed Mascarinus duboisi. (3) That, so far as can be judged from the material that exists, Mascarinus is allied rather to such Palseornithine genera as Palceornis and Tanygnathus than to Psittacus, Coracopsis, or allied forms. Cambridge, May 8, 1879. * Piomis corallmus is the only exception to the above rule that I have yet met with. t Lophopsittacus and Necropsittacus. 308 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Sylvia. XXVI. Remarks on the Genus Sylvia and on the Synonymy of the Species. By HENRY SEEBOHM. THE classification of birds will probably occupy the attention and tax the ingenuity of ornithologists for some years to come. This branch of zoology has undoubtedly made rapid strides during the last half century; but it is nevertheless only within the last generation that its study has emerged from the literary into the scientific stage. Much has been done to illustrate the anatomy and physiology of birds ; their litera- ture and synonymy have been unravelled from much of the confusion into which they had drifted ; and their geographical distribution has been extensively, if not exhaustively, worked out ; but the clue to their classification remains undiscovered. Of every new system of classification which has been pro- posed, one can only say that it is as unsatisfactory as its pre- decessors. One reason of this may be found in the attempt to make a linear arrangement of the families of birds. This is as impossible as to make a linear arrangement of the countries of Europe. A scientific arrangement of birds, classified ac- cording to their natural affinities, cannot be represented by a line, nor yet by a plane, but rather by an inverted cone, of which the base represents the existing avifauna of the world, and the underlying sections the birds of past geological ages. Nor can we assume that the birds at present existing repre- sent a uniform flat plane. There are doubtless deep valleys, which, like the Marsupials of Australia, belong to lower sections, whilst the more rapidly developed families or genera may represent ranges of mountains. Some genera are islands, isolated by the extinction of their nearest allies ; whilst some families represent inland countries, closely connected with many surrounding families. The classification of birds thus resembles the fitting together of one of the puzzle-maps of our childhood, with this dif- ference, that we have not only to fit the various pieces to- gether, but we have first to get them into their right shapes. In all probability our knowledge of ornithology is not yet ripe for any classification to be successfully attempted. The Mr. H. Seebolim on the Genus Sylvia. 309 ornithological student must patiently labour at shaping his pieces, at working his families into shape, and fitting them into the families nearest allied to them. The genus Sylvia has by many ornithologists been placed at the head of the family Sylviidse. Wallace, in his ingenious classification of the Passeres, founded on the comparative development of the bastard primary (Ibis, 1874, p. 409), places this family between the Turdidae and the Timeliidae. Professor Newton (Newton's ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 300) admits his inability to give any structural characters by which the Sylviidae may be separated from the Turdidae. Sharpe, in his modification of SundevalFs classification of this group of the Passeres (Cat. of Birds, iv. p. 7), proposes three families, Muscicapidae, Turdidae, and Timeliidae. In the former he in- cludes many species hitherto placed in the Sylviidae. The Turdidae he restricts to such species as have small bastard primaries and comparatively flat wings, whilst his family of Timeliidae appears to be a general refuge for the destitute, including the round-winged Turdidae (Mimus &c.) , the round- winged Sylviidae (Drymceca &c.), the Timeliidae, as hitherto estricted, the Cinclidae, the Troglodytidae the Leiotrichidae, the Phyllornithidae, and the Pycnonotidse. I venture to suggest that the characters by which these three proposed families are separated, the width of the bill, the development of the rictal bristles, and the shape of the wing, are characters of comparatively modern date, and may form excellent lines of demarcation between subfamilies. I propose to throw these three families as defined by Mr. Sharpe together, and to subdivide them into two large families, separated from each other by characters which, I venture to suggest, are much older (i. e. extending further back into remoter geological ages), and which, at the same time, will give to Prof. Newton the desired characters which separate the Thrushes from the Warblers. I propose to include in the Turdidae those species con- tained in the group under consideration which possess the following characters : The young in first plumage are spotted on the upper parts 310 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Sylvia. as well as on the uiiderparts. This plumage is completely moulted in the first autumn before migration ; so that young in first winter plumage differ very slightly from adults. Adult birds have only one complete moult in the year, in autumn, before migration. The spring plumage is obtained by casting the ends of the feathers. There is no complete moult in the spring, only such feathers being renewed as have been acci- dentally injured. So far as I have been able to ascertain, these peculiarities are always in this group correlated with a plain tarsus. This family will contain the genera Turdus, Saxicola, Ruticilla, a considerable portion of the Muscicapidse, and probably several American genera. The family which I propose to call the Sylviidse is charac- terized as follows : The young in first plumage are unspotted on the upper parts (except in those cases where the adult birds are so also), and only in rare instances are traces of spots to be found on the breast. The adult birds moult twice in the year, in spring and autumn, both moults being complete. Birds in first plumage, having an opportunity of moulting in spring, do not require to moult in the first autumn, and only renew a few feathers then ; consequently there is frequently a differ- ence, principally in the colour of the underparts, between the the young and the adult in winter plumage. This family will contain the genera Sylvia, Acrocephalus, part of the Muscicapidse, and probably the greater portion of Mr. Sharpens Timeliidse. So far as I have been able to ascertain, the cha- racters I have mentioned as belonging to this family are always associated with a scutellated tarsus. Difficult as is the assignment of its proper position in the classification of birds, the synonymy of many of the species of the genus Sylvia presents still greater difficulties. The Barred Warbler stands undisputed as Sylvia nisoria (Bechst), Naturg. Deutschl. iv. p. 530 (1795). The synonymy of the Orphean Warbler is not perfectly clear. (C La Fauvette " of Brisson, Buffon, and D' Aubenton is obviously the female Orphean Warbler. The male bird appears to have been unknown to Brisson ; but Buffon treats Mr. H. Seebohra on the Genus Sylvia. 311 it as a variety of the Blackcap. Gmelin founded his Mota- cilla hortensis on the " Fauvette " of Brisson and Buffon ; and according to the strict letter of the law his name ought to be adopted. But inasmuch as Gmelin only defined the female, and that in terms insufficient to distinguish it from the im- mature Barred Warbler, and inasmuch as his name has been applied so universally to the Garden-Warbler for more than half a century, we arc perfectly justified in ignoring it in favour of Sylvia orphea of Temminck (Man. d'Orn. p. 107, 1815), on the ground that the latter ornithologist was the first to ' ( clearly define " the Orphean Warbler, and to give it a name which remains free from the taint of having been misapplied to other species. RiippelPs Warbler stands undisputed as Sylvia rueppelli of Temminck (PL Col. iii. p. 245, 1823). The specific name of the Whitethroat given by Linnaeus having been adopted for the genus, it becomes necessary to discover the next earliest name which has been clearly defined. Professor Newton decides in favour of rufa of Boddaert ; and this decision is accepted by Mr. Dresser. Boddaert's name is founded upon D'Aubenton's figure of ' ' La Fauvette rousse " (PL Enl. 581. fig. 1). But it is impossible to accept this figure as a clear definition of a Whitethroat, a common and perfectly well-known bird, fairly figured (PL Enl. 579. fig. 3) under its familiar name of " La Fauvette grise ou la Grisette." It is equally impossible to determine what bird stood as model for D'Aubenton's plate of " La Fauvette rousse/' I venture to suggest that the artist "evolved" the figure (< out of the depths of his moral consciousness," and coloured it to agree with Buffon's description of " La petite Fauvette rousse." It is impossible to identify either Brisson's " Fauvette rousse " or Buffon's ' ' petite Fauvette rousse " with any known bird ; but we may confidently assert that neither description can be accepted as a clear definition of a Whitethroat. In my opinion Boddaert's name falls to the ground for want of a clear definition. There is no evidence to prove that Bod- daert attempted to define any species ; and probably no one would have been more astonished than he himself to hear 312 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Sylvia. that his name of Motacilla rufa was applied to " la Grisette." Boddaert's unambitious object was to apply the binomial system of nomenclature introduced by Linnaeus to the birds figured in the ' Planches Enluminees ' of D'Aubenton, which Buffon and Montbeillard had neglected to do. Referring to the work of the latter gentleman, he finds that the ' ' Fauvette rousse " is the Curruca rufa of Brisson ; and turning over his f Systema Naturae/' he finds that all the Fauvettes are in- cluded by Linnaeus in his genus Motacilla ; so he modestly names " La Fauvette rousse " of D'Aubenton Motacilla rufa, instead of Curruca rufa. But had there been no doubt what- ever attaching to Boddaert's name, it must have been rejected on other grounds. The object of nomenclature being to attain absolute scientific precision, it is obvious that the name of Sylvia rufa having been in general use for more than half a century for the Chiffchaff, could under no circumstances be transferred to any other species of the genus Sylvia. To do so would be to violate the spirit of the British- Asso- ciation rules in the endeavour to follow the letter of the law too blindly. It is unfortunate that the familiar name Sylvia cinerea, inappropriate as it is, cannot stand ; but Latham himself had previously (in 1787) given the appropriate name Sylvia communis (Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 287) to the Whitethroat. The species is " clearly defined" beyond all cavil; and orni- thologists have only their own neglect to blame if the name appears a novel one to them. The Blackcap stands undisputed as Sylvia atricapilla (Linn., Syst. Nat. i. 332, 1766). It is unfortunate that the Garden- Warbler cannot retain its familiar name of Sylvia hortensis. We have already seen that Gmelin's name applies to the female Orphean Warbler. It might probably be possible to argue that Gmelin confounded the male Orphean Warbler with the Blackcap and the female Orphean Warbler with the Garden-Warbler, so that his name might stand by stretching the law a little as " partim " but all discussion of the subject is rendered useless by the fact that Gmelin's name is superseded by Latham's Sylvia simplex (Gen. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Sylvia. 313 Syn. Suppl. i. p. 287, 1787), of the clear definition of which there cannot be any doubt. The adoption of Latham's name would be a very simple solution of the difficulty, were it not that there exist two earlier names which have a claim upon our attention. The first of these is the Motacilla borin of Boddaert. This name was founded upon D'Aubenton's figure of ' ' la petite Fauvette " in the Planches Enluminees.' There seems to be little doubt that Brisson's " petite Fauvette" is the Garden-Warbler. Buffon's Description of the bird also agrees fairly well with this species ; but he confuses it with two other birds. A local name for the Whitethroat is ({ la Passerine/' and for the Spectacled Warbler (which is an almost exact miniature of the Whitethroat) " la Passerinette." Buffon calls his bird " la Passerinette ou petite Fauvette." The other species which BuiFon apparently mixes up with the Garden-Warbler is the ChiffchafF, the note and nest of which are erroneously ascribed to " la Passerinette." I submit that D'Aubenton's figure cannot be accepted as a clear definition of the Garden- Warbler. I do not deny that it may have been drawn from a stuffed specimen of this species ; but the posi- tion does not admit of the structural characters being seen, and the coloration is faulty in the extreme, so much so that Dresser, in his ' Birds of Europe,' identified it with the Lesser Whitethroat. But I am not sure that the name cannot be rejected on its merits. The name borin does not appear to be a classical name at all. I take it to be simply the local name of the bird ; and to apply it as a scientific name would probably appear as absurd to the ornithologists of " le pays de Genes " as the names Pica magpie or Sylvia blackcap would to us. The other name is the Motacilla salicaria of Linnaeus. This name has been adopted by Prof. Newton and accepted by Mr. Dresser. I am sorry to be obliged to differ from our greatest authority on ornithological nomenclature, and would willingly have indorsed his name if I had not been convinced that others would have repudiated it, and that by so doing I should only be prolonging the agonies of its death. There is considerable circumstantial evidence that Linnaeus intended SER. IV. VOL. III. 2 A 314 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Sylvia. to describe the Garden- Warbler as Motacilla salicaria. Nevertheless he not only failed to define the species clearly, but described it inaccurately as having "supercilia alba" and "pedes fulvi," and in his 'Fauna Suecica' (where the name appears for the first time) refers to Albin (Nat. Hist. B. iii. p. 56, pi. 60). The bird described by Albin under the name of Sedge-bird is undoubtedly an Acrocephalus, any Swedish species of which would have pale supercilia and pale legs. It is appropriately figured perched upon a willow- bush, which probably suggested to Linnaeus the name of sali- caria, a most inappropriate one for the Garden- Warbler. Inasmuch as the Garden-Warbler has no superciliary stripe, and the colour of its legs and feet are bluish grey, I submit that Linnaeus has no claim whatever to have clearly defined this species. An equally fatal objection to the adoption of this name is that the term salicaria of Linnseus has been, in consequence of the faulty description alluded to, trans- ferred from one bird to another until it has ceased to have a definite meaning. Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud Nilsson et Newton, is the Garden-Warbler; Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud Bechstein (Orn. Taschenb.) et Meyer et Wolf, is the Aquatic Warbler ; Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud Latham et Fleming, is the Sedge-Warbler ; Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud Brehm, is the Marsh- Warbler ; Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud Bechstein (Naturg. Deutschl.), is the Iteed- Warbler; Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud Pallas, is the Booted Warbler ; and Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud Heuglin et Sharpe, is the Icterine Warbler. So completely has the term salicaria been identified with the Reed- Warbler, that Selby adopted it for the genus, in which he has been extensively followed by both British and continental ornithologists. Under these circumstances it seems to me that the spirit of the British- Association rules will be best carried out by calling the Garden- Warbler Sylvia simplex, Lath. The Lesser Whitethroat appears to be unquestionably en- titled to stand as Sylvia curruca (Linn.) (Syst. Nat. i. p. 329). I take it to be " la Fauvette babillarde " of Brisson, Buffon, and D'Aubenton. Three forms of this bird appear to be en- titled to rank as subspecies : affinis, Blyth (J. A. S. Beng. Mr. H. Seebolim on the Genus Sylvia. 315 xiv. p. 564), which has a slightly more rounded wing ; althea, Hume (Stray Feath. vii. p. 60), a large form, which I have not yet seen; and minula*, Hume (Stray Fcath. i. p. 198), a desert-form, of a pale isabelline colour. The Spectacled Warbler stands as Sylvia conspicillata, Temm. Man. d'Orn. i. p. 210 (1820), ex Marmora, MS. The Desert-Warbler stands as Sylvia nana, Ehr. Symb. Phys. Aves, fol. cc (1829). The Subalpine Warbler stands as Sylvia subalpina, Temm. Man. d'Orn. i. p. 214 (1820), ex Bonelli, MS. Blanford's Warbler, Sylvia blanfordi, Seebohm, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 979, appears to be a good species, intermediate between S. curruca and S. rubescens and S. melanocephala, differing from the former in having a darker head, a more rounded wing, and a longer tail, and from the two latter in having darker legs and feet, a more rounded wing, and darker outside tail-feathers. The Sardinian Warbler stands as Sylvia melanocephala (Gmel.) (Syst. Nat. i. p. 970, 1788, ex Cetti). Marmora's Warbler must, I think, stand as Sylvia sarda, Temm. Man. d'Orn. i. p. 204 (1820), ex Marm. MS.f It has a doubtful claim to bear the name of Sylvia moschita, Gmel. (Syst. Nat. i. p. 970) . Gmelin takes his description from Cetti's Ucc. di Sard. p. 218 (1776). After describing the bird upon which Gmelin founded his Motacilla melanocephala , Cetti proceeds, " Ad un uccelletto lungo non piu di 5 pollici, di color piombino e incappellato andr* esso una d'un cap- pellino rosseggiante, danno i Sardi il nome di moschita, o come altri dicono noschita. }J There can be no question that this is intended to apply to the bird hitherto known as Sylvia sarda. There can scarcely be a doubt that Gmelin's name has the priority of that of * Probably a misprint for " minuta" there being no such Latin word as " minula." EDD. t Temminck calls this bird "Sylvia sarda, Marmora," and refers to an article by Marmora in the " Annales de 1' Academic de Turin, 28 Aout, 1819." But at the close of Marmora's article on Sylvia cetti (Mem. Ace. Sci. Torino, xxv. p. 254) Bonelli adds a note that the paper thus quoted by Temminck was never published. 2A2 316 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Sylvia. Temminck ; but since this bird has been in undisturbed posses- sion of the latter for upwards of half a century, we may fairly ignore the former on the ground that Gmelin's description does not clearly define the species. His name does not de- serve to stand, inasmuch as he obviously never saw the biid, or he would scarcely have copied Cetti's error in ascribing the rufous tint to the head instead of to the flanks. Tristram's Warbler, Sylvia deserticola, Tristram (Ibis, 1859, p. 58), is an excellent species, which has most unaccountably been confused with Sylvia nana. It is a much darker- coloured bird, with a more rounded wing and a much longer tail. It is nearer to S. conspicillata, but can always be distinguished by its more rounded wing, longer tail, and darker chin and throat. Another of Tristram's species, Bowman's Warbler, appears to me to be a good one. It differs from S. melanocephala in having a shorter tail, and in being, in both sexes, but espe- cially in the female, paler in colour. Tristram named it Sylvia bowmanni (Ibis, 1867, p. 85) ; and Blanford subsequently described it as Sylvia rubescens (Ibis, 1874, p. 77) ; but both these names are superseded by Cabanis, who named it Meli- zophilus nigricapillus (Mus. Hein. i. p. 35, 1850). Cabanis described his species from Hemprich and Ehrenberg's types in the Berlin Museum ; and if the existence of a type in a public museum is to be held as legally supplementing an in- sufficient description, which I take to be in accordance with ornithological judge's law, Bowman's Warbler must stand as Sylvia momus (Ehr. Symb. Phys. Av. i. fol. bb, 1829). The Dartford Warbler must, I presume, stand as Sylvia undata (Bodd.) . Boddaert's name is accompanied by no de- scription, but is published as the Latin name of " le Pitte-chou de Provence/' figured by D'Aubenton in the c Planches Enlu- minees' (Bodd. Table PL Enl. p. 40, 1783). The figure is sufficiently good to leave no reasonable doubt as to the species intended to be designated ; and Boddaert's name may there- fore be held to have been, in this instance, " clearly defined." Under all circumstances, Sylvia dartfordensis, Lath., would take precedence ofMotacillaprovincialis, Gmel. The former name appears in Latham's list of British birds appended to the sup- plement of his < General Synopsis.' This most important list, On the Zoology of New Guinea. 317 with references to full descriptions, has, most unaccountably been ignored by all writers on ornithological nomenclature. The Palestine Warbler will doubtless stand as Sylvia me- lanothorax, Tristram (Ibis, 1872, p. 296). I have only seen skins obtained by Canon Tristram in Palestine and by Lord Lilford in Cyprus. The immature birds come so near Riip- pell's figure and Heuglin's description of Sylvia lugens (Riipp. Neue Wirb. p. 113, pt. 42, 1835), that I should have hesi- tated to consider the two species distinct if I had not had the opportunity of examining the type of Curruca lugens in the Senckenberg Museum at Frankfort. RuppelPs bird has far too large a first primary to be admitted into the genus Sylvia at all, and is certainly not S. melanothorax. I am unable to find any characters to entitle Melizophilus to stand as a genus. All the species which I have enumerated have the tail shorter than the wing, except the following : S. blanfordi has the tail JQ longer than the wing. S. deserticola has the tail -fa longer than the wing. S. melanocephala has the tail also - Q longer than the wing. S. sarda has the tail -fa longer than the wing. S. undata has the tail varying from 1 to \ longer than the wing. I have much pleasure in doing tardy justice to the dis- coveries of a distinguished field-naturalist by rescuing two of his new species from the oblivion in which cabinet-naturalists had buried them ; but I venture to suggest that, if my friend Canon Tristram had described his species in honest English, instead of in ornithological Latin, they could scarcely have been overlooked so long. The attempt to give them a cos- mopolitan fame has resulted in their absolute seclusion for half a lifetime. XXVII. Remarks on the Second Part of Mr. Ramsay's ( Contributions to the Zoology of New Guinea. 3 By T. SALVADORI, C.M.Z.S. MR. RAMSAY has been so kind as to .send me an early copy of his " Contributions to the Zoology of New Guinea/' con- taining a list of the Mammals and Birds obtained during 318 Prof. T. Salvador! on the Mr. Goldie's second expedition to New Guinea, with de- scriptions of some new birds recently forwarded to the Australian Museum by Mr. Kendel Broadbent, from the same localities. Mr. Ramsay's paper, published in the ( Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales/ vol. iii. pp. 241-305, 1879, is an important one, as the materials at his com- mand were very extensive ; and I have thought that it would be interesting to the readers of 'The Ibis' to have some remarks on the part of the paper relating to the birds, especially as there are not a few species described as new, on which, as well as on others, I think I am able to make some apposite criticisms. Mr. Ramsay's paper treats of not less than 214 species of birds, which were represented by about 2500 specimens. These were mostly collected along the southern coast of the eastern peninsula of New Guinea; but some were from Deboyne Island and Teste Island in the Louisiade archi- pelago. ACCIPITRES. Mr. Ramsay mentions 11 species of this order; the fol- lowing require some notice. BAZA REINWARDTI, Ramsay, /. c. p. 246. Mr. Ramsay, after having mentioned a specimen from the Laloki river, goes on to say that " it is most certainly dif- ferent from the New-Ireland species, which Dr. Sclater places under the same name (P. Z. S. 1877, p. 109) ." I have seen the specimen mentioned by Dr. Sclater ; and I noticed that it differed from twenty specimens from New Guinea, Waigiou, Salwatty, Amboyna, &c. in the under wing-coverts being white without the buff tinge, which was constant, although more or less intense, in those twenty specimens. As to the other differences in the tail and in the wing, mentioned by Mr. Ramsay, they are dependent on age. MACIOERORHAMPHUS ALCINUS, Ramsay, /. c. p. 247. A fine pair is mentioned by Mr. Ramsay. At present, with the specimen previously noticed by Mr. Sharpe (Journ. new Tanagers of the Genus Buarremon. 427 Salv.*, and B. elaoprorus, Scl. et Salv.f, form a group dis- tinguishable by their chestnut-red caps and yellow under sur- face, of which the seven species may be descriminated as follows : a. gutture nigro 1. B. melanolcemus. b. gutture flavo, ventre concolori. b'. dorso nigro. b". speculo alari nullo. I loris nigris 2. J9. melanops. I loris flavis 3. B. rufinmhus. c". speculo alari albo 4. B. latinuchus. c>. dorso cinereo | loris ni ^ ris 6 ' *' ^dionoti^s. I Ions navis 6. B, comptus. d'. dorso olivaceo 7. B. elceoprorus. 4. BUARREMON TNORNATUS, sp. nov. Buarremon brunneinuchus, Scl. P. Z. S. 1859, p. 138. Olivaceus, alis caudaque brunnescentibus ; pileo castaneo, striga utrinque cinnamomea ; fronte et capitis lateribus nigris, ilia albo trimaculata ; subtus albus, lateribus et ventre imo cum subalaribus cinereis olivaceo indutis, campterio flavo ; rostro nigro ; pedibus carneis : long, tota 7'5, alae 3'2, cauda 3'0. Hab. in rep. ^Equatoriana : Pallatanga (Fraser) ; Jima (Buckley). Mus. P. L. S. et S.-G. Obs. Similis B. brunneinucho, sed torque collari nullo. Two examples of this species, collected by Fraser at Pal- latanga, were considered by Sclater to be the young of B. brun- neinuchus. The receipt of further specimens, in exactly the same plumage, renders it necessary to separate the species. We have not had an opportunity of examining Peruvian specimens which have been called Arremon frontalis by Tschudi (Faun. Per. Aves, p. 213) and B. brunneinuchus by Taczanowski (P. Z. S. 1874, p. 515). * P. Z. S. 1876, p. 253. t P. Z. S. 1879, p. 504. 428 Mr. H. Seebohm on certain Points in XXXVII. Remarks on certain Points in Ornithological Nomenclature. By HENRY SEEBOHM, F.Z.S. THE attempt which Strickland made to introduce order into the chaos of zoological nomenclature, by constructing a code of laws to save it from the hopeless confusion into which it was drifting, deserves the highest praise. Though these rules were carefully amended by a zoological committee, and passed by the parliament of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, no one who is familiar with the imperfections of statute-law will be surprised to learn that, like all other codes, the Stricklandian rules proved inade- quate to meet the multiplicity of cases with which they had to deal. The difficulty was met by allowing a liberal inter- pretation of the rules when necessary, or even by tacitly ignoring them where a blind adherence to the letter of the law would have increased the confusion it was constructed to avoid. Around the Stricklandian statute law there has thus arisen an uncodified ornithological "judges' law," founded upon the practice of the best ornithologists, which has, until recently, secured the important objects at which Strickland aimed. But, unfortunately, during the last few years three ornitho- logical works have put in an appearance, which threaten to undo much of the good which Strickland's efforts have accomplished. Ornithological nomenclature is once more disturbed by frivolous changes, and is rapidly drifting from the position of exact scientific accuracy to that of mere popular indefmiteness. These three works, Newton's ' Birds of Britain/ Dresser's ' Birds of Europe,' and Sharpe's ' Cata- logue of the Birds of the British Museum,' so far as each has proceeded, have gradually undermined the principles which Strickland endeavoured to embody in his code ; so that now a state of confusion has arisen in ornithological nomen- clature little, if at all, better than the pre- Stricklandian chaos. Newton, in his edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' has apparently ignored the practice of Strickland and other eminent ornithologists, and too frequently, in opposition to Ornithological Nomenclature. 429 the spirit of the law, has endeavoured to carry out the British- Association rules to the " bitter end," and, as he himself admits, " regardless of consequences " ! In an obscure writer such a reckless course would have been of 110 consequence, but pursued by Professor Newton, who is admitted by the majority of British ornithologists to be the greatest authority on ornithological literature, its effects have been truly disas- trous. Even in the small instalment of Newton's work which has been hitherto published, there has been a great slaughter of the innocents. It seems very hard to have to give up Bubo maximus, Strix brachyotus, Phylloscopus rufus, Sylvia cinerea } Sylvia hortensis, and many other names familiar as household words to us from our childhood. Dresser, in his ' Birds of Europe/ has, however, " outheroded Herod." Wherever Newton has made a change, Dresser has blindly followed him ; and in too many instances, instead of being satisfied to carry out certain of the British-Association rules to the uttermost, he has gone even further still, and given the doubtful name the benefit of the doubt, apparently for no other reason than because of its novelty. To make confusion more confounded, Sharpe, in his ' Catalogue of Birds/ after following Newton's unfortunate lead through two volumes, then turned suddenly round, and in his third volume openly violated the rules, choosing for the purpose, amongst others, an instance especially selected by Strickland for disapproval. I may be doing Sharpe an injustice in charging him with inconsistency. Probably he came to the conclusion that Newton, Dresser, and he had given the British- Association code rope enough, and that it had hanged itself before his third volume was published. For a year or two I have urged upon several of my orni- thological friends the importance of taking action on this disgraceful state of our favourite science, a position of affairs which has excited the derision of some of our continental associates, but hitherto in vain. Now that a decision is forced upon me, I have come to the conclusion that the only course open to a conscientious ornithologist, is to attempt to codify the existing ornithological "judges' law/' in fact, to alter 430 Mr. H. Seebohm on certain Points in the rules to suit the cases which have been left unprovided for in the Stricklandian code, so as to carry out, as far as possible, the great objects which that excellent reformer aimed at. The principal objects of a code of nomenclature ought to be the following : 1. To ensure that every genus and every species of bird shall have a definite name, about which there can be no man- ner of doubt as to the exact genus or species intended to be discriminated by such name. 2. To make as little change as possible in the names of birds, and to effect the adoption of the same name for the same bird by as many ornithologists as possible. 3. To ensure the adoption of the name given by the writer who first clearly defined the genus or species to which it belongs, as far as practicable. The revolutionary changes introduced by Messrs. Newton, Sharpe, and Dresser, render a codification of ornithological judges' law necessary to reestablish the principles of the Stricklandian code. Perhaps the simplest way to approach this subject will be to select a few of the most flagrant offences of which the above-named writers have been guilty, to point out where these are in violation of the existing code, and, in the cases in which the letter of the law is obeyed in violation of its spirit, to draft out a rider to the present law to meet such case. Before proceeding to these cases I should like to say a few words upon the binomial system of nomenclature. Upon this question ornithologists are divided into two camps. We have the Utopian party, who assert that ornithological no- menclature must be strictly binomial, consisting of a specific and generic name only, and the practical party, who assert that to these two names must be added the authority for the specific name. No doubt, in Utopia, where the same name is never given to two species of birds, where ornithological names are never misapplied, and where the memories of orni- thologists are never at fault, such an addition is unnecessary. Among blundering mortals, like ourselves (and I know of no ornithologist who does not blunder, the blunders of ornitho- Ornithological Nomenclature. 431 legists being pretty much in the direct ratio of the amount of work they do) , it seems to me impossible that a name can have absolute definiteness without a reference to the person who defined it. The name quoted, with the appendix, does not become in any sense trinomial. It remains strictly binomial. The authority is no part of the name, any more than the reference to its origin, but is only quoted to give definition to it, to ensure the greatest possible scientific precision, and as a concession to the "humanity" of ornithologists, who might otherwise "err" as to the species of bird first described under the name. Now let us take our " cases." Saxicola stapazina, Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. xxv. Sterna hirundo, Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. xii. When Dresser transferred the name of the Black -throated Chat to the Eared Chat, and that of the Common Tern to the Arctic Tern, he placed future ornithologists upon the horns of a dilemma. Thenceforth the binomial term of Saxicola stapazina ceased to be a scientific term ; and to give it the necessary precision to enable it to become scientific, either the circuitous term Saxicola stapazina, Linn., fide Dresser, or the equally objectionable term Saxicola stapazina, Linn, nee Temm. &c., must be used. Ornithologists will not easily forgive a writer who obliges them to reject a long familiar name. I conceive that we have no alternative but to reject these names altogether. To meet these cases I propose the following rider to Rule 12 of the Stricklandian code : "The object of all rules of scientific nomenclature being to attain absolute precision, it is obvious that a name which has been extensively applied to one species ought not a under any circumstances, to be transferred to any other species in the same genus. Where any reason- able doubt attaches to the correctness of any identifica- tion, the species in possession of the name should have the benefit of the doubt, in order to avoid change. Where no doubt whatever exists that a name ordinarily attri- buted to one, properly belongs to another species of the 432 Mr. H. Seebohm on certain Points in same genus, it must be discarded altogether, but under no possible circumstance should it be transferred to another species in the same genus a practice which cannot be too strongly condemned, as entirely destroying the scien- tific character of ornithological nomenclature." Phylloscopus collibyta, Newton's ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 437 ; Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. Ixxiv. It seems to me a matter of profound regret that an attempt should have been made to ignore the name of Phylloscopus rufus for the Chiffchaff. It is impossible to identify the Curruca rufa of Brisson or "la petite Fauvette rousse" of Buffon with any known bird. Daubenton's plate of (t la Eauvette rousse " is equally unintelligible, though Newton and Dresser accept it as a clear definition of the Whitethroat, for which they consequently claim the name of Motacilla rufa of Bod- daert. If the two birds had remained in the same genus it would undoubtedly have been necessary to discard the name altogether. Had Boddaerfs name been otherwise unob- jectionable, it must have been rejected on the ground that Sylvia rufa would perpetually be confounded with the Chiff- chaff. On the other hand, Phylloscopus rufus can never be confounded with the Whitethroat. I therefore propose to ignore altogether the specific term rufus until it is found attached to a bird which is clearly defined, and to call the Chiff chaff Phylloscopus rufus (Bechst.), since Bechstein was undoubtedly the first ornithologist who clearly defined the species, To cover cases of this kind I pro- pose to add a clause to Rule 12, to enact that names which cannot be identified must be considered as not existing; otherwise we shall have some ultra-conscientious ornitho- logist giving a new name to Blyth's Heed Warbler on the ground that it is not the Motacilla dumetorum of Linnaeus, though no one can tell to which species of the genus Acro- cephalus this name of Linnaeus was intended to apply. The existence of a phantom Motacilla rufa of Boddaert, and of an equally unsubstantial Motacilla rufa of Gmelin and Latham, ought not, in my opinion, to bar the use of Sylvia Ornithological Nomenclature. 433 rufa by Bechstein for a bird which that excellent field-natu- ralist describes so accurately that no one can doubt for a moment that he is describing the Chiffchaff. I therefore propose the following rider to Rule 12 : " Names accompanied by descriptions so imperfect as to be incapable of identification with any known species, must be consigned to the oblivion of prelinnsean names, so that their existence shall be no bar to the adoption of the same name when given by a later writer." This rule will also apply to and provide for the following case : Acrocephalus aquaticus, Newton's ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 380; Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. li. The Aquatic Warbler has by no means a clear title to its name. Scopoli's bird may have been either a Sedge-Warbler or an Aquatic Warbler ; but his description is inconsistent with either of them. Neither Gmelin nor Latham appear to have known the bird, but to have simply copied Scopoli. Bechstein, Meyer and Wolf, and Naumann were well ac- quainted with the species, but identified it, probably incor- rectly, with the Motacilla salicaria of Linnaeus, a name which has been transferred from one species to another until it has long ago ceased to have any definite meaning or any scien- tific value. Temminck was the first writer to use the name aquatica for a clearly defined species ; and since his name has been in general use, and has not been extensively, if at all, applied to any other species, we are, in my opinion, justified in calling the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus aquaticus (Temm.), consigning the Motacilla aquatica of Gmelin and the Sylvia aquatica of Latham to the Lethe of prelinnaean oblivion. Turdus dubiuSj Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. Iviii. The Thrush hitherto known as Turdus fuscatus of Pallas is christened Turdus dubius by Dresser, because that writer has "satisfied himself" that Bechstein's description of a Thrush which was sent to him from Coburg refers to an immature ex- ample of Pallas's bird. After carefully reading over the de- 434 Mr. H. Seebohm on certain Points in scription, I can only come to the conclusion that Bechstein's bird is a very doubtful one, but that, having regard to the absence of any allusion to the chestnut on the wing-coverts, and the positive statement that the under wing-coverts were bright orange, the probabilities are that it was a Song-Thrush in first plumage, which, in consequence of being kept in a cage, retained much of the immature plumage after the first moult. Whether this was the case or not ; whether it was an abnormal variety of Turdus musicus, or of some other Thrush, I cannot say ; but it seems to me a gross violation both of the spirit and of the letter of the Stricklandian code to accept this as a clear definition of the bird hitherto known as Turdus fuscatus, and to attempt to supersede that name by Turdus dubius. Acrocephalus arundinaceus, Newton, Ed. Yarr. B. i. p. 364 ; Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. Ixix. When Meyer transferred the Great Sedge- Warbler to the genus Acrocephalus from the genus Turdus, in which it was placed by Linnaeus, and in which it was retained by Gmelin, Bechstein, Meyer and Wolf (in their joint work), Temminck, in his edition then published, and later by Vieillot, he found that the specific name was already occupied by the Reed- Warbler. His scientific instincts prevented him from creating hopeless confusion by transferring the name of the Reed- Warbler to the Great Sedge-Warbler, and he very judiciously gave to the latter bird a specific name of his own, which, among continental ornithologists, it has retained ever since. Gray appears to have been the first ornithologist to intro- duce confusion by applying the name of arundinacea to both species ; but he got over the consequent difficulty by putting them into different genera. Newton further complicated matters by reuniting the genera, and retaining the name for the larger species. This he was entitled to do under the Stricklandian code, which makes no provision for cases of this kind. His unfortunate, though legal, decision has been indorsed by Harting, Blanford, Gurney, Dresser, and others, until the name has ceased to have a definite meaning, and must be rejected altogether, all Stricklandian rules or British- Ornithological Nomenclature. 435 Association codes not withstanding, unless the study of orni- thology is to be allowed to drift into a popular amusement, in which scientific accuracy is of minor importance. The name arundinaceus having ceased to be a scientific term in the genus Acrocephalus, the strict letter of the law requires us to adopt that ofjunco of Pallas. This appears to me to be a case in which ornithological law may fairly be overridden by ornithological equity. Pallas had no right to substitute the prelinnsean name of junco for the Linnaean , name of arundinaceus , since he quotes the latter as a synonym, and retains the species in the genus Turdus. I submit there- fore that the Great Sedge-Warbler ought to be known by its time-honoured name of Acrocephalus turdoides (Meyer) ; and I propose to justify the proceeding by adding the follow- ing rider to Rule 12 : " Names which have been in general use for many years, and which have been clearly defined, ought not to be superseded by the discovery of earlier names, com- paratively unknown, except in cases where the newly discovered name accompanies the earliest clear definition of the species." Graculus graculus, Sharpe, Cat. of Birds, p. 146. Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, Sharpe, Cat. of Birds, iii. p. 148. Corone corone, Sharpe, Cat. of Birds, iii. p. 36. Pica pica, Sharpe, Cat. of Birds, iii. p. 62. It is a thousand pities that ornithologists did not retain the excellent practice commenced by Brisson of giving to the type of each genus the same specific and generic name. To revert to the practice now would, I fear, involve too much change in our nomenclature, though it would undoubtedly give to it a system and simplicity which it does not at present possess. But be this as it may, it is obviously absurd to apply the system in a few isolated cases. In the original Strick- landian code it was provided that wherever a specific name was elevated to generic rank, a new specific name must be found. At the Meeting of the British Association in 1865, this rule was reversed, and it was enacted that the specific name so pro- 436 On certain Points in Ornithological Nomenclature. moted must be reduced to the ranks, and a new generic name must be found. This alteration in the rule still remains un- rescinded. It was carried by a number of eminent ornitho- logists; but I cannot learn that any one of them has had the courage of his opinions ; and to this day it remains a dead letter, to the standing disgrace of ornithological science. I therefore venture to propose the following compromise : " Specific names that have been elevated to generic rank prior to the year 1817 shall be allowed to stand; but where such changes have been made subsequent to that date, the specific name shall be restored and another generic name found. " Hypolais languida, Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. This name stands as Hypolais languida of Hemprich and Ehrenberg, in direct violation of the Stricklandian code, but in accordance with the most approved ornithological judges' law. In Ehrenberg's description no character whatever is given by which the species may be distinguished from its near allies. It was rejected for want of a clear definition until Blanford and Dresser examined the type in the Berlin Mu- seum. Cases of this kind are numerous ; and to provide for them I propose the following rider to Rule 12 : " Slight errors in a description may be condoned, or omissions supplemented by reference to the type speci- men, if such exist in any public museum. No type spe- cimen shall, however, be allowed to give value to a name where no description whatever has been published." There are doubtless some other points which I have over- looked. Perfection in ornithological, as well as in civil law, can only be attained by slow degrees. Other cases, which neither Strickland's code nor any codification of judges' law have contemplated, will continually arise and have to be pro- vided for. My object is not to strive after an impossible perfection. Had it been so I should have delayed my paper for some years. It seems to me that the most important thing to be done is, without delay, to protest, in the name of scientific accuracy and ornithological equity, against the On Birds from the Solomon Islands and New Hebrides. 437 revolutionary attempts of Messrs. Newton, Sharpe, and Dresser to corrupt the ornithological morality of the pre- sent age. XXX VIII. On a Collection of Birds from the Solomon Islands and New Hebrides. By H. B. TRISTRAM, F.R.S. (Plates XI., XII.) I HAVE had placed in my hands for determination, by the kindness of Vice-Admiral Sir Geo. H. Richards, K.C.B., a small but very interesting collection of birds made by his son, Lieut. Richards, R.N., at Makira Harbour, San Cris- toval, Solomon Islands, between the 2.2nd August and 3rd October in last year, consisting of thirty-three species. Of these no less than twelve are, so far as I can ascertain, as yet undescribed, while several of the others are of extreme rarity in collections, some of them being not, as yet, known to exist in any museum in this country. The fact of the whole collection having been made in a limited area shows how much yet remains to be done before the avifauna of this portion of the Pacific can be looked upon as exhausted. The excep- tional beauty of many of the new species, such as the Ceyx, Charmosyna, and Ptilopus, renders their absence from pre- vious collections from the Solomon Islands the more remark- able. Either previous explorers have very cursorily skimmed the island fauna, or the species must be extremely local. 1. ASTUR (UROSPIZA), sp. ? An immature bird in first year's plumage. Very like the young of A. approximans, but much smaller. It agrees exactly in measurements with an adult specimen of A. tor- quatus in my collection from the New Hebrides, and may probably prove to be the young of that species. The specimen is a male. Iris bright yellow ; feet orange. s 2. HALIASTUII GIRRENERA (Vieill.). Two specimens, adult. SER. IV. VOL. III. 2 K 438 Canon Tristram on Birds from the 3. HALCYON SANCTA, Vig. & Horsf . Appears to be very common. 4. HALCYON JULI^E, Reich. One specimen, the most distinctly marked which I have yet seen of this form, for I hesitate to assign specific value to this bird. I have, however, never seen a bird more richly coloured than this, which is evidently adult. The lores, fringe of the collar, and the whole region behind the eye are dark chestnut, with black ear-coverts, extending to the collar, which is pale chestnut, as are the under wing- coverts, flanks, abdomen, and under tail- coverts. 5. CEYX GENTIANA, sp. nov. (Plate XI.) C. rostro nigro; capite nigro, ultramarino striato, macula inter nares et oculos necnon macula postauriculari albis, dorso medio et cauda azureo resplendentibus, utrinque ultra- marino circumdatis ; alis ultramarino striatis, remigi- bus atris : subtiis tota alba. Long. tot. 5'8, rostr. T8, alse 2-5, caud. 1-25, tars. 0*35, dig. med. 0'6, dig. post. 0'2. This lovely little Kingfisher bears a slight resemblance in the distribution of its colours to Alcyone pusilla, but it is im- possible to confound them. The three shades of brilliant blue, the ultramarine spangles on the head and back of the neck, and the spotless white of the whole under surface render it one of the most chastely gorgeous of its family. It belongs to the same group as Ceyx solitaria, Temm., hitherto the only species known of black-billed Ceyx, but may be at once distinguished by the pure white of its lower surface and its considerably larger size. The iris is bluish black, and the feet flesh-coloured. I have named it gentiana, as combining the colours of three species of that plant. 6. DENDROCHELIDON MYSTACEA (Less.). 7. COLLOCALIA LINCHI, Horsf. & Moore. A single specimen, which I take to be of this species, is in the collection. It agrees with the description, and is dis- tinct from any of the dozen species before me ; but I have not been able to compare it with a typical example of C. linchi. Corrections of Synonymy in the Family Sylviidse. 273 The same observations as to the moulting of the wing- feathers applies to this as to the preceding species. 357. QUERQUEDULA HOTTENTOTTA, Smith. Hottentot Teal. Male and female, shot near Potchefstroom in the month of November. ANAS SPARSA, Smith. White-spotted Duck. Male, shot 7th March. Total length 22 inches, bill 2J, wing 10J, tarsus 2J, tail 5 ; weight 2 Ib. 8 oz. Irides hazel ; bill, upper mandible slaty horn-colour, with a large patch in the centre and also the tip black, under mandible pale pink ; tarsi and feet dull orange-yellow, with the webs and back parts dusky. Female, shot 19th April. Total length 21 \ inches ; weight 2 Ib. 6 oz. Irides dusky brown ; bill, upper mandible slaty blue, with tip and central patch black, under mandible pinkish; tarsi and feet as in the male. The whole canal to the stomach crammed with grass-seeds. PHALACROCORAX AFRICANUS (Gin.). Long-tailed African Cormorant. Male, shot 26th July. Partially in nuptial dress. Irides bright light crimson ; bill chrome-yellow, but light dusky brown on the ridge, tip, and part of the lower mandible, the latter being also more or less barred ; tarsi and feet black. Remains of fish in the stomach. These Cormorants are tolerably numerous about Potchef- stroom, but appear to keep to themselves, for they fish and move from place to place in a solitary manner, passing along the river, generally high overhead, early in the morning to their favourite pools, and returning pretty regularly in the evening to where they sleep; they swim very low in the water. XXV. Various Corrections of Synonymy in the Family' Sylviidse. By HENRY SEEBOHM. IN preparing the synonymy of the fifth volume of the ' Cata- logue of Birds in the British Museum/ I have been obliged to SER. IV. VOL. IV, 17 274 Mr. H. Seebohm's Corrections of disallow the claims of many species to be considered new. These identifications with previously described species will appear in their proper places in the synonymy of the various birds treated of in the volume, but, from the nature of the work, without note or comment. To my mind, whatever value may attach to an opinion is increased at least tenfold by a concise statement of the grounds upon which it is based, so that the readers may be able to form an opinion of their own, instead of accepting it on the authority of even the best expert. Some of our most accurate writers on ornithology have neglected this important point, partly perhaps from a mistaken endeavour to be brief, and partly, it is to be feared, from an unwillingness to commit themselves to a definite line of argument, the accuracy of which might hereafter be impeached. I have frequently been told, when asking for the reason why an opinion in which I could not coincide was expressed, that the writer had no doubt that he had excellent reasons at the time for coming to the conclusions which he recorded, but that now, after the lapse of some years, he was not able to recall his former line of argument to memory. Such replies are eminently unsatisfactory. The day in which opinions were accepted solely on authority is past. Probably we are in danger of rushing to the opposite extreme, and are more inclined, in those cases where the evidence does not satisfy our reason, to give the casting vote in favour of doubt. It appears to me that new material is so continually coming forward, and old material is so frequently being raked up from the nooks and corners where it has been lying hid, that no ornithological opinion can be considered final, or even of much value, unless accompanied by the statement of the facts upon which it is based. In addition to the " slaughter of the innocents/' which I propose to justify, to the best of my ability, in the present paper there are also numerous errors of identification to correct, which also require some explanation more full than s consistent with the plan of the ' Catalogue of Birds.' Slcrocephalus arabicus, Heugl. On, N.O,-Afr, i. p. 289 Synonymy in the Family Sylviidae. 275 (1869). I have examined HeughVs type in the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfort, and am unable to distinguish it from A. turdoides (Meyer). The wing measures 3*48 inches, and the second and third primaries are equal and longest. Acrocephalus fulvolateralis, Sharpe, Layard's B. S. Afr. p. 289 (1877). The type in the British Museum agrees in all its dimensions and in its wing-formula with A. turdoides (Meyer), of which there can be no doubt that it is an example in autumn plumage. Through the kindness of Mr. Wardlaw Ramsay I have been able to examine a copy of that rare work, Naumann's ' Naturgeschichte der Land- und Wasser-Vogel des nordlichen Deutschlands und angranzender Lander/ In the "Nachtrag" to this work, vol. iv. p. 199, published in 1811, the genus Acrocephalus is carefully characterized, and seven species are named and the specific characters enume- rated. The first of these is Acrocephalus lacustris (p. 201), which is identified with Turdus arundinaceus , Linn. The term Acrocephalus arundinaceus having been so universally applied to A. streperus (Vieill.), amongst others by Naumann, on the page last quoted, the Great Sedge- Warbler will proba- bly be best designated for the future as Acrocephalus lacus- tris , Naum., a name which antedates A. turdoides (Meyer) and is not antedated by A.junco (Pall.). For the informa- tion of ornithologists anxious to distinguish themselves by discovering forgotten names, I may state that there are no Latin names of birds given in this rare work of Naumann's, except in the genus Acrocephalus, beyond an occasional quo- tation of Linnseus. Locustellajaponica, Cassin, Proc. Ac. Sc. Phil. 1858, p. 194. The type in the museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia is almost an exact duplicate of the type of L. ochotensis (Midd.) in the St. Petersburg Museum, the feathers of the upper parts showing traces only of darker centres. The name must therefore sink into a synonym of MiddendorfPs species. Locustella minor, David et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 250 (1877). The type of this species is lost ; but T Abbe David assures me that his name must be added to the synonyms of L. certhiola 276 Mr. H. Seebohm's Corrections of (Pall.), of which he is now satisfied that his supposed new species was a somewhat small example. Lusciniopsis hendersoni, Cassin, Proc. Ac. Sc. Phil. 1858, p. 194. This bird has been identified by Dresser and Hume with the Turkestan and Indian species. I have carefully examined the type in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and find it to be an example of Locustella minuta, Swinh., which I take to be only a form of L. lanceolata (Temm.) . The Turkestan and Indian species must therefore stand as L. straminea (Severtz.). Arundinax davidiana, Verr. N . Arch. Mus. Bull. vi. p. 37 (1870). The type of this alleged species is in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, and is, in my opinion, a specimen of Horornis fortipes, Hodgs., or, as I prefer to call the bird, Cettia fortipes (Hodgs.). It is described, and not badly figured, in David et Oustalet's Oiseaux de la Chine, pi. 20. If the Formosan species, Horeites robustipes, Swinh., be, as I maintain, the same as the Himalayan bird, Abbe David's examples from Chinese Thibet are specially interesting as coming from an intermediate locality. Horornis fulviventris, Hodgs. MS. Drawings (in the Brit. Mus.) of Birds of Nepal, Passeres, pi. 63, no. 878 which name was first published by Hodgson in Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 82 (1844), and accompanied for the first time with a description of the bird in an article contributed by Hodg- son to the P. Z. S. 1845, p. 31 must sink into a synonym of Phylloscopus fuscatus, Bly th, a name which dates from 1842. Hodgson's type, which was originally in the India Museum, and is now in the British Museum, is conclusive upon the question. I am inclined to think that Hodgson was right in separating this species from Phylloscopus. In their general style of coloration, their large bastard primary, and their somewhat graduated tail, P. fuscatus (Blyth) , P. schwarzi (Radde), P. armandi (Milne-Edwards), P. indicus (Jerdon), and P. fuliginiventris (Hodgs.) are aberrant Phyl- loscopi, and appear to me to be more nearly allied to Lusci- niola melanopogon (Temm.) . This genus might consist of the following species : Lusciniola aedon (Muscicapa aedon, Pall.) ; Synonymy in the Family Sylviidae. 277 L. gracilirostris (Calamodyta gracilirostris, Hartl.); L.mela- nopogon (Sylvia melanopogon, Tcmm.) ; L. major (Dumeticola major, Brooks) ; L. luteiventris (Tribura luteoventris, Hodgs.) ; L. thoracica (Dumeticola thoracica, Blyth) ; L.flaviventris (Ho- rornis fiaviventer, Hodgs.); L. fuscata (Phyllopneuste fuscata, Blyth) ; L. schwarzi (Sylvia (Phyllopneuste} schwarzi, lladde) ; L. armandi (Abrornis armandi, Milne-Edwards) ; L. indica (Sylvia indica, Jerdon) ; L. fuliginiventris (Horornis fuligini- venter, Hodgs.) ; and L. neglecta (Phylloscopus neglectus, Hunie) . Arundinax flemingi, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 440. Herbivocula incerta, David et Oustal. Ois. de la Chine, p. 246 (1877). Oreopneuste qffinis, David et Oustal. Ois. dela Chine, p. 267 (1877). A careful examination of the type of the first-mentioned bird in the Swinhoe collection, of the description of the second (the type having been lost), and of the type of the third in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, leads me to the conclusion that these three supposed new species may be all referred to Phylloscopus schwarzi (Radde). They vary slightly in size, but not more so than individuals of allied species usually do, and the slight variations of colour are apparently only seasonal. In relative length of wing and tail, in wing-formula, and in shape of bill they do not differ. Tribura luteiventris, Hodgs., apud David et Oustal. Ois. Chine, p. 239. Abbe David's skins in the Museum of the Jardin de Plantes in Paris are incorrectly identified. The upper parts are olive-brown instead of russet-brown, and the wings are longer instead of shorter than the tail. They are the supposed young in first winter plumage of Dumeticola thoracica of Blyth, the Dumeticola affinis of Taczanowski, from Lake Baical, of Prjevalski from Kansu, and of Abbe David from Moupin. Lusciniopsis brevipennis,Ve?r. N. Arch. Mus. Bull. vi. p. 65 (1871). Dumeticola mandelli, Brooks, Stray Feathers, 1875, p. 28-1. These two supposed new species agree precisely in dimen- 278 Corrections of Synonymy in the Family Sylviidse. sions, relative length of wings and tail, wing-formula, and shape of bill with Tribura luteoventris, Hodgs. The type of the former, in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, agrees also in colour; but the types of the latter, in Man- delli's collection, present slight variations. One skin has spots on the throat, and the other traces of slate-grey on the breast. I imagine these only to be seasonal changes ; but they may prove hereafter to be specific characters, as Blyth suspected to be the case in his nearly allied Dumeticola thoracica. Phyllopneuste trochilus, Hodgson, Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 82 (1844) . The type, formerly in the India Museum, and now in the British Museum, is a skin of Phylloscopus lugubris, Blyth. Abrornis xanthog aster, Hodgson, Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 82 (1844). This species was incorrectly identified by Horsfield and Moore (Cat. E.I. Co. Mus. i. p. 337) with Phylloscopus lugubriSj Blyth. The types, formerly in the India Museum, and now in the British Museum, are skins of Phylloscopus affinis, Tickell. Abrornis tenuiceps, Hodgs. Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 82 (1844). The type, in the British Museum, is a skin of Phylloscopus humei (Brooks) ; but as Hodgson appears nowhere to have given any description of his species, Brooks's name will stand, according to the British- Association Rules. There are also skins of this species in the British Museum labelled P. mo- destus in Blyth's handwriting. Abrornis chloronotus, Hodgs. MS. Drawings (in the Brit. Mus.) of Birds of Nepal, Passeres, pi. 57, no. 839, undoubt- edly represents Phylloscopus proregulus (Pall.), without the grey on the head and throat and without the white on the inside webs of the two outside tail-feathers characteristic of P. maculipenniSj Blyth. On the other hand, in the same MS. work, App. pi. 45, also no. 839, are two figures un- doubtedly representing Blyth's species. In the British Mu- seum both species are represented amongst Hodgson's types, both being numbered ( ' 839." Hodgson does not appear ever to have described his species, but catalogues it in Gray's On the Ornithology of Ceylon. 279 'Zoological Miscellany' as " Abrornis chloronopus vel Re- gulus modestus auct." Under these circumstances I do not see that Hodgson has the slightest claim to have his name recognized at all. Phylloscopus ocdpitalis (Jerdon), fide Seebohm, Ibis, 1877, p. 80. Phylloscopus trochiloides (Sundev.), apud Seebohm, Ibis, 1877, p. 81. The former is the spring plumage, and the latter the autumn plumage of P. ocdpitalis , Blyth. Phylloscopus viridipennis (Blyth), apud Seebohm, Ibis, 1877, p. 82. Phylloscopus (Reguloides] flavo-olivaceus, Hume, Stray Feath. v. p. 504 (1877). These are both synonyms of the true Phylloscopus regu- loides (Blyth). Phylloscopus presbytis (Miiller), from Timor, is probably the Muscicapa presbytis of S. Mull. Tydschr. v. Natuurl. Geschied. en Phys. ii. p. 331 (1835), from Sumatra. It is the winter plumage of P. viridipennis, Blyth, whose name will stand, since Miiller's name is unaccompanied by any description. XXVI. Notes on the Ornithology of Ceylon. By E. L. LAYARD, F.Z.S. THE last mail put me in possession of Parts I. and II. of Captain Legge's ' Birds of Ceylon/ with which I am especially delighted. It would ill become me to criticize the scientific history of the birds as given by the author; but as a " pioneer/ } as he calls me, in the field, permit me to add my testimony to the accurate descriptions of the habits of our feathered friends and the localities they inhabit. For the last two or three days I have not been in New Caledonia ! Bodily, per- haps, I have; but in spirit I have roamed at will in the " Mookalane " of the south, the scrubby jungles of the west coast, and the trackless forests of the " Wanoy," over the vast 280 Mr. E. L. Layard on the salt plains of the north, transported to the well-remembered haunts in the lovely " Lanka " by Captain Legge's spirited narrative. So vivid have been my impressions, though some six and twenty years have passed since I left its shores and ceased to work in its fauna, that the " mysterious chambers of the brain " have given up memories long locked up in them, and incidents of collecting, of travelling, of individual specimens even, seem to stand forth one by one, like pictures in dissolving views, one, as it fades, calling up another. Some of these reminiscences may not be useless to the future explorers of Ceylonese ornithology ; I therefore jot them down as they occur to me. Nisaetusfasciatus. The specimen in the Poole Museum is Dr. Templeton's specimen ! I now remember it perfectly well. My dear old friend gave it to me, with a few other specimens, when he left the island, and it thus came into the Poole collection, never having been replaced by a better. My first connexion with the ornithology of Ceylon may well be detailed here. I arrived in Ceylon in March 1846, and for some time, having no employment, amused my leisure in collecting for my more than friend, Dr. Templeton, who had nursed me through a dangerous illness, and in whom I found a con- genial spirit. My chief attraction then was the glorious Le- pidoptera of the island ; but I always carried a light single- barrelled gun in a strap on my back, to shoot specimens for the Doctor. He himself, like Dr. Kelaart, never shot, but depended on his friends for specimens. I, of course, soon became interested in the " ornis " and on Templeton's leaving, at the end of 1847 or beginning of 1848, he begged me to take up his correspondence with the late Edward Blyth, then curator of the R. A. S. Calcutta Museum*. He left me his list of the species then known to exist in the island, numbering 183, and Blyth's last letter to answer. From that day almost monthly letters passed between the * All Ceylonese species therefore (except Kelaart's) described by Blyth after this date were discovered by me. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 179 XV. Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. By HENRY SEEBOHM. [Continued from ' The Ibis,' 1879, p. 163, and concluded.] SINCE my return from Siberia I have received five small col- lections of birds from Mr. Kibort, a Polish exile whose ac- quaintance I made at Kras-no-yarsk'. Amongst these are skins of some species which I did not meet with in the valley of the Yen-e-say'. Most of my collecting was done north of the Arctic circle. Mr. Kibort's skins were all obtained in the immediate neighbourhood of Kras-no-yarsk 7 , and illustrate the ornithology of the valley of the Yen-e-say 7 ten degrees further south of the district where most of my observations were made. I am also indebted to Mr. Meves, of Stockholm, for a report upon the skins obtained by Dr. The'el in the valley of the Yen- e-say 7 in 1876. The latter gentleman conducted a scientific expedition which went overland to Siberia, intending to meet Professor Nordenskiold at the mouth of the great river. Dr. Theel was able to reach lat. 70 ; but his ornithological booty, owing to the fact that it was principally obtained south of the Arctic circle, contains many species which I did not meet with. He has kindly allowed me to make use of the report of Mr. Meves to supplement my contributions to the ornithology of the valley of the Yen-e-say 7 . PANDION HALIAETUS (Linn.). Dr. Theel observed the Osprey fishing in the Yen-e-say 7 in lat. 59| and 61. FALCO .ESALON, Gmel. When I was in the valley of the Yen-e-say 7 I more than once felt almost sure that I recognized the Merlin ; but as I did not succeed in obtaining a specimen, it was not included in my first list. I have now the skin of a male in my col- lection, obtained by Mr. Kibort near Kras-no-yarsk 7 . Dr. Theel observed it frequently about lat. 70, and obtained a young bird in lat. 70^. TINNUNCULUS VESPERTINUS (Linn.). Mr. Kibort has sent me three skins of the Orange-legged 180 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. Hobby from Kras -no-y arsk'. They are of the European form, and not of that obtained by E/adde on the Amoor. ASTUR PALUMBARIUS (Linn.). Mr. Kibort has sent me a female Goshawk from Kras- no-yarsk'. CIRCUS CINERACEUS (Mont.) . Mr. Kibort has sent me an adult male of Montagu's Har- rier from Kras-no-yarsk'. SURNIA ULULA (Linn.) . Mr. Kibort has sent me a skin of a Hawk-Owl from Kras- no-yarsk'. .Dr. Theel informs me that he met with this species at Luscinova, in lat. 68J . NYCTALA TENGMALMI (Gmel.) . Mr. Kibort has sent me a skin of this Owl from Kras- no-yarsk'. SYRNIUM URALENSE (Pall.). Mr. Kibort has sent me a fine male of the Ural Owl from Kras-no-yarsk'. We might naturally have supposed that it would be intermediate in colour between the European bird and the Japanese subspecies fuscescens, Temm. On the contrary, it differs quite as much from the European bird, but in the opposite direction the white parts being very white, and the dark parts being very dark and grey, not brown. A careful examination of the skins in the British Museum and in Dresser's and my own collections leads me to the opinion that there is nothing in regard either of size or colour that can entitle the Japanese bird to claim rank even as a subspecies. Asio ACCIPITRINUS (Pall.). When I was in the valley of the Yen-e-say' I failed to secure a specimen of the Short-eared Owl. Mr. Kibort has now sent me two skins obtained near Kras-no-yarsk'. UPUPA EPOPS, Linn. Dr. Theel was told, on good authority, that the Hoopoe is occasionally seen near Kras-no-yarsk'. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 181 Picus MAJOR, Linn. Dr. Theel found this species breeding near Yen-e-saisk', and met with it as far north as lat. 60. GECINUS CANUS (Gmel.). Dr. Theel was told, on good authority, that a Green Wood- pecker was found near Kras-no-yarsk'. Picus PIPRA, Pall. Mr. Kibort has sent me a skin of this species from Kras- no-yarsk'. Dr. Theel informs me that he saw the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near where the Nish'-ni Tun-goosk' joins the Yen-e-say', in lat. 66. The whole of the under- parts are unspotted silky white, with the exception of the under tail-coverts, which are slightly streaked with black. The outside tail-feathers have two rudimentary cross bars. The transverse bars on the back and rump are also nearly obsolete. The wing measures 3*75 inches, and the tail 2'5. This species is the Picus kamtschatkensis of Cabanis, Bona- parte, Sundevall, and Malherbe. I have shot it at Arch- angel and in the valley of the Petchora ; and besides the skins from Kras-no-yarsk', I have seen skins from Lake Baical and the Amoor, and have in my collection examples from the islands of Sakhalin and Yezzo, north of Japan. Compared with the South-European form, it is an excellent species. Spe- cimens from Norway and Sweden are somewhat intermediate, being as large as the Siberian form, but in the colour and markings of the back and underparts scarcely differing from the South-European form. Picus MARTIUS, Linn. Dr. Theel was informed on good authority that the Black Woodpecker is occasionally seen near Kras-no-yarsk'. He met with it himself in lat. 59. IYNX TORQUILLA, Linn. Dr. Theel was informed on good authority that the Wry- neck is occasionally seen near Kras-no-yarsk'. He met with it himself in lat. 59. 182 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. STURNUS VULGARIS, Linn. Mr. Kibort sent me three skins of the Kras-no-yarsk' Star- ling. In the P. Z. S. 1878, p. 712, Dr. Finsch has described a new species of Starling from the Chinese High Altai as Sturnus poltaratskyi, and has incorrectly identified the skin I brought from the Yen-e-say' with it. He appears to be right in advocating the distinctness of S. humii, Gould (fig. nee descript.), from S. nitens, Hume, which latter species was sub- sequently renamed (on the ground that the name S. nitens had previously been applied to the Common Starling by Brehm) S. ambiguus, Hume, and S. humii, Brooks. Finsch, however, is wrong in identifying his species with S. humii, Gould. After carefully examining all the skins in the British Museum and in Dresser's and my own collections, I have come to the following conclusions : Sturnus purpurascens, Gould, may at once be recognized by its bronze-purple scapulars and wing-coverts, which in the other species are green. The forehead and ear-coverts appear also to be always bronze-purple. The fore neck is always green, and the breast and belly purple, shading into bronze on the flanks. The remaining parts appear to be subject to variation. The crown, nape, and throat are usually mingled bronze and green, occasionally pure bronze, and occasionally pure green. The upper parts, from the hind neck downwards, are purple in some skins from Eastern Asia Minor, which may be taken as the extreme form. In others, however, from the same locality, and from the Altai mountains and North Persia, these parts are green, in which plumage they are the S. poltaratskyi of Finsch. In the same localities, however, in Asia Minor, in Yarkand, and in North-west India, every intermediate form occurs ; so that the probability is that the difference is due to age or individual variation. Gould's type is one of these intermediate forms. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn., may at once be recognized by its green scapulars and wing-coverts. The ear-coverts appear also to be always green. The fore neck is always a reddish purple, and the breast and belly green, shading into bluish purple on the flanks. The crown, nape, and throat are sub- Mr. H. Seebohm on tlte Ornithology of Siberia. jcct to the same variations as in the preceding species. Tin* upper parts, from the hind neck downwards, are entirely green in skins . from Beluchistan, South Persia, Behar, and from Europe to India ; but usually the upper back is more or less reddish purple in skins from Europe, and Asia Minor ; and in some European skins the upper parts, from the hind neck downwards, are entirely reddish purple. In this case the intermediate forms are S. vulgaris, Linn. ; the green form is S. humii, Gould nee Brooks, and consequently nameless, whilst the reddish-purple form is fortunate enough to have hitherto escaped the infliction of a name. In this case, as in that of S. purpurascens, Gould, since differences of geo- graphical distribution do not coincide with differences of plumage, we may fairly refer the latter to age or individual variation. In the Faroe Islands a form occurs with a longer bill than usual (S. faroensis, Feilden), which may be worthy of record as a subspecies. A slightly smaller form from the Azores is worthy of honourable mention, but scarcely of the bronze medal of subspecific rank. Sturnus indicus, Hodgs., appears to me to be a fair species. I take it to be Sturnus unicolor, Marmora, apud Jerdon, S. nit ens, Hume nee Brehm, S. ambiguus, Hume, S. humii, Brooks, /S. humii, Gould, letterpress nee figure, and S. minor, Hume. It is found in Scinde, Cashmere, and Nepal. It appears to be a small race of S. vulgaris, Linn., having the general colour of that bird, and subject to nearly the same variations. The length of wing measures from 4*3 inches to 4*75. The lower back and rump are often green; but I have not yet met with a skin in which the upper back was green. The flanks, however, appear to be always green, whereas they seem to be always purple in the common species. The breast appears also to be always purple, whilst in S. vulgaris the purple does not extend below the lower throat. I take it to be a good species. ORIOLUS GALBULA, Linn. Mr. Kibort has sent me a male of this species from Kras- Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. no-yarsk', the most easterly locality hitherto recorded of the Golden Oriole. LANIUS HOMEYERI, Cab. Great differences of opinion appear to exist as to the number of species into which the Grey Shrikes ought to be divided. Dresser and Sharpe, in their " Notes on Lanius excubitor and its Allies" (P.Z. S. 1870, p. 590), recognized two Si- berian species. Two skins from the Amoor, fortunately still in the Swinhoe collection, were identified by these ornitho- logists as adult and immature of Lanius lahtora (Sykes) . The adult bird is stated to be " absolutely similar in every respect " (the italics are not mine) to examples of old L. lahtora from the Punjab. The second Siberian species was identified doubtfully, from Pallas's description of L. major, with the American L. borealis y Vieill. I think Dresser and Sharpe were wrong in both their facts, but right in at least one of their conclusions. The adult bird of the first species, so far from being absolutely similar in every respect to L. lahtora, differs from that species in having the general colour of the upper parts considerably paler, and in wanting the narrow black frontal line at the base of the bill. The im- mature bird is what is generally recognized as L. major, Pall., which these writers professed never to have seen. In the ' Journal fur Ornithologie ' (1873, p. 75) the sub- ject is handled by Cabanis with that minute attention to details so characteristic of the German mind, and two new species are described, L. homeyeri and L. sphenocercus. In addition L. major, Pall., is recognized as a Siberian bird. We may at once dismiss L. meridionalis , Temm., and L. algeriensis, Less., as western forms, which have nothing to do with Siberia. L. lahtora, Sykes, seems to me to have no better claim to be considered a Siberian bird. In the allied species black hairs, apparently an extension of the rictal bristles, are found on the forehead at the base of the bill ; but in L. lahtora, Sykes, more or less black feathers are found there in addition, causing it to approach in this respect L. excubito- roides, Swains., where these black feathers are still more Mr. II. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 185 developed. L. lahtora, Sykes, is probably entirely confined to India, where it breeds though L. leucopygius, Hempr. apud Severtz., from Turkestan, may prove to be this species. The skin from the Amoor in the Swinhoe collection, which Sharpe and Dresser incorrectly identified with L. lahtora, Sykes, appears to me to be L. homeyeri, Cab., originally described (loc. cit.) from South Russia. Hence it passes eastwards through Turkestan, where it has been described by Severtzoff as L. leucopterus (Ibis, 1876, p. 184), to Central Siberia, whence Mr. Kibort has sent me two skins obtained by him at Kras- no-yarsk' on the 18th of May and the 12th of August. East- wards it appears to be found near Lake Baical (Tacz. Journ. f. Orn. 1874, p. 322) and on the Amoor. In this species, as in L. lahtora, Sykes, the secondaries are not only tipped with white, but are always white on the basal half of both webs, and some of them are always white on the entire inside web. A third species having this peculiarity appears to be L. deal- batus, Defil., from Algeria, Tunis, and Sennaar (fide skins in the British Museum) . This species appears to be interme- diate in the colour of the upper parts between L. lahtora, Sykes, and L. homeyeri, Cab., differing also from the former in wanting the narrow black frontal line of feathers, and from the latter in its smaller size and distinct geographical range. LANIUS MAJOR, Pall. My immature bird from the Amoor is undistinguishable from L. boreahs, Vieill. ; but I have seen an almost complete series from it to L. excubitor, Linn. That the amount of white at the base of both webs of the secondaries is not a question of age, appears to me to be sufficiently proved by the skin of a nestling from Baden in Dresser's collection, in which the white on the secondaries is as much developed as in typical skins of fully adult L. excubitor, Linn. The only explanation that I can suggest is that L. excubitor, Linn., is the western form, which in Europe may be said to be almost pure-bred. In Asia it would appear to interbreed along the whole line with L. borealis, Vieill., which becomes the pre- SER. iv. VOL. iv. o 186 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. vailing form in East Siberia. In America probably only pure-bred L. borealis, Vieill., occurs ; whilst in Asia pure- bred birds of both species, and every possible cross and inter- cross between them, are to be found. Another species allied to L. excubitor, Linn., appears to be L. fallacy Finsch, differing in being somewhat smaller in size, darker in the colour of the upper parts, and in having the white on the primaries and secondaries more developed but nevertheless not extending over the entire inside webs of any of the secondaries. Dresser and Sharpe apparently in- clude this species in their L. lahtora, Sykes ; but it does not seem to possess the narrow black frontal line. From skins in the British Museum and in Dresser's collection I conclude the geographical range of L. fallax, Finsch, to be Abyssinia, Nubia, Egypt, Palestine, Euphrates valley, Baluchistan, and the Punjaub, in which latter district it is found in company with L. lahtora } Sykes. I strongly suspect that the " L. leu- copy gius, Hempr/' apud Severtz., will also prove to be L. fallax, Finsch, since the skin which Finsch brought from the Irtish appears to be of the latter species, though larger in size than usual. Since the geographical ranges of all the Grey Shrikes more or less overlap each other, I should not be sur- prised to learn that in many cases where two forms inhabit the same district they habitually interbreed. In that case one of the forms thus interbreeding would have to be de- graded to the rank of a subspecies ; but until intermediate forms are found, we must, I think, consider them as closely allied but distinct species, and not lump three or four of them together, as Sharpe and Dresser appear to me to have done. LANIUS SPHENOCERCUS, Cab. This Shrike is fairly figured in David and Oustalef s ' Oiseaux de la Chine/ plate 76. It appears to breed in Eastern Siberia (Tacz. Journ. f. Orn. 1876, p. 198), to pass through Mongolia on migration (Prjev. Howl. Orn. Misc. ii. p. 273), and to winter in China (David et Oustal. Ois. Chine, p. 93). LANIUS CRISTATUS, Linn. Mr. Kibort has sent me three skins of the adult and two .Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 187 skins in the immature plumage of this species. Dr. Theel obtained eggs of this bird. I take it to be the L. phaenicurus of Pallas, and the L. superciliosus of Latham. GARRULUS BRANDTI, Eversm. This very handsome and rare Jay appears to be very com- mon in the neighbourhood of Kras-no-yarsk'. Mr. Kibort has sent me numerous skins. PERTSOREUS INFAUSTUS (Linn.) . Mr. Kibort has sent me two skins of the Siberian Jay from Kras-no-yarsk'. Dr. Theel informs me that he met with this species at various stations on the Yen-e-say' up to the Arctic circle. URAGUS SIBIRICUS (Linn.). Mr. Kibort has sent me three skins of this brilliantly plumaged bird from the neighbourhood of Kras-no-yarsk'. Dr. Theel obtained it at Yen-e-saisk'. CARDUELIS ORIENTALIS, Eversm. Mr. Kibort has sent me a fine male of this species from Kras-no-yarsk 7 . COCCOTHRAUSTES VULGARIS 3 Pall. Mr. Kibort has sent me two skins of the Hawfinch from Kras-no-yarsk'. They agree exactly with others from Asia Minor and Japan. LOXIA CURVIROSTRA, Linn. Mr. Kibort has sent me two skins of the common Crossbill from Kras-no-yarsk'. LOXIA BIFASCIATA, Brehm. Dr. Theel informs me that he met with small parties of this species between Kras-no-yarsk 7 and Yen-e-saisk'. FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA, Linn. Dr. Theel informed me that he saw two examples of this species in lat. 59 on the 26th of June. PASSER MONTANUS (Linn.). Dr. Theel informed me that he saw the Tree- Sparrow as far north as lat. 60. o2 188 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. EMBERIZA SPODOCEPHALA, Pall. Mr. Kibort has sent me a skin of this species from the neighbourhood of Kras-no-yarsk'. Dr. Theel also obtained it there and at Asinova, in lat. 61. EMBERIZA AUREOLA, Pall. Mr. Kibort has sent me the nest and eggs of this species from Kras-no-yarsk f . EMBERIZA PUSILLA, Pall. Dr. Theel obtained this species in lat. 65 on the 13th of July. EMBERIZA CIOIDES, Brandt. I have received seventeen skins of this handsome Bunting in autumn plumage, and two skins in breeding-plumage, from Kras-no-yarsk'. In both plumages the ear-coverts are deep reddish brown, instead of black as in its Japanese ally, E. ciopsis, Bp. All the skins of E. ciopsis, Bp., from Japan which I have seen in collections in this country have black ear-coverts ; but in the Leyden museum both species are labelled as coming from Japan. ALAUDA ARVENSIS, Linn. Mr. Kibort has sent me several skins of the Sky-Lark from the neighbourhood of Kras-no-yarsk'. They all appear to be identical with our European species, and differ from the Japanese form in being paler on the upper parts. ALAUDA PISPOLETTA, Pall. Mr. Kibort has sent me a skin of this species from Kras- no-yarsk'. ANTHUS CERVINUS, Pall. This species was first met with by Dr. Theel on the 25th of July in lat. 69, which is probably the southern limit of its range in the breeding-season. ANTHUS TRIVIALIS (Linn.). Dr. Theel found this species as far north as lat. 69. ANTHUS GODLEWSKII (Tacz.), Bull. Soc. Zool. France 1876, p. 158. Mr. Kibort has sent me two skins, obtained near Kras-no- Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 189 yarsk', which appear to be the same form as Taczanowski's new species obtained by Dr. Dybowsky near Lake Baical and by Prjevalsky in Alaschan, in Chinese Mongolia. This species seems to me to be a good one. It is nearly allied to A. campestris, but is decidedly smaller and darker in colour on the upper parts. ANTHUS MACULATUS, Hodgs. Mr. Kibort has sent me a skin of this Pipit, which differs from the Tree-Pipit in being much greener on the upper parts and somewhat more spotted on the underparts. MOTACILLA FLAVA, Linn. I am unable to distinguish skins of this species obtained at Kras-no-yarsk' from skins collected in Holland. MOTACILLA PERSONATA, Gould. Dr. Theel informed me that he did not see this Wagtail further north than lat. 59. A few versts further north its place was taken by M. alba. MOTACILLA MELANOPE, Pall. Dr. Theel informed me that he found this species breeding in lat. 59. MOTACILLA CITREOLA, Pall. Dr. Theel informed me that he first met with this species in lat. 65, on the llth of July, where it was doubtless breeding at or near its southern limit in summer. AMPELIS GARRULA, Linn. 1 did not succeed in shooting a specimen of the Waxwing in the valley of the Yen-e-say'; but Mr. Kibort has sent me three skins from Kras-no-yarsk', and Dr. Theel informs me that he found this species common in several localities. PARUS CYANUS, Pall. I have received three skins of this bird from Kras-no- yarsk'. ACREDULA CAUDATA (Linn.). The Long- tailed Tit appears to be common in the neigh- bourhood of Kras-no-yarsk'. Mr. Kibort has sent me 190 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. eight skins. The Siberian form is very beautiful, and almost entitled to rank as a subspecies. The entire head and neck are pure white. The whole of the inside webs of the innermost secondaries are also pure white. In the British and Central- European forms the white on the wing is much less developed; but intermediate forms are not uncommon in North Europe. Dr. Theel informs me that he saw this species as far north as lat. 59. ClNCLUS LEUCOGASTER, Bonap. Bonaparte, in his ' Conspectus ' (i. p. 252), ascribes this name to Eversmann; but I have been unable to find a reference to any publication of the name earlier than that of Bonaparte. Mr. Kibort has sent me two skins of a Dipper from the neighbourhood of Kras-no-yarsk', which I presume must belong to this species. Both are males; and both were shot on the same day, the 17th of November. The head and nape are sooty brown, much darker than in C. albicollis, and not so rufous as in C. aquaticus. The underparts of one skin agree with those of C. melanogaster ; but in the other the white on the breast extends further down, and instead of being sharply divided from the sooty black of the belly it gradually shades into it, passing through the various shades of greyish brown. The genus Cinclus presents many dif- ficulties. Dresser, in his ' Birds of Europe/ adds little or nothing to the facts collected by Salvin in ' The Ibis ' of 1867, p. 109 et seq. I fail to be able to draw the distinction which Salvin does between local races and re- presentative species. If he were to examine the additional material which has come to hand since his article was written, I think he would agree with me that his local races are those of which he possessed a large series, whilst of his representative species he was only able to obtain access to one or two skins. So far as I can see, there is only one species of Palsearctic White-throated Dipper, of which the typical form inhabits Central and Southern Siberia, North India, Tur- kestan, Persia, and Asia Minor, and will probably stand as C. cashmiriensis, Gould. In East Siberia every intermediate Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 191 form occurs between this and C. leucogaster, Bonn p., the extreme type of which has the underparts white throughout. In Europe three subspecies have apparently established them- selves: C. melanogaster, Brehm, in the north, in which the dark parts are intensified in colour and a shade of rufous is observable on the head and nape ; C. ayuaticus, Bechst, in Central Europe, in which the rufous shade appears on the belly also ; and C. albicollis, VieilL, in Southern Europe, in which the head and nape are paler brown than in the typical species. TURDUS OBSCURUS, Gmel. Dr. Theel informed me that he obtained a specimen of this Thrush as far north as lat. 68. TURDUS SIBIRICUS, Pall. Dr. Theel informed me that the great breeding-place of this beautiful and rare Thrush is in the neighbourhood of Toor-o-kansk', about lat. 66. He did not observe it further north than E-gar'-ka, in lat. 67. TURDUS MUSICUS, Linn. Mr. Kibort has sent me both adult and young in first plumage of the Song-Thrush. From the presence of the latter we may, I think, safely infer that this bird breeds near Kras-no-yarsk'. I am not aware of any instance on record of any Thrush migrating before moulting. RUTICILLA PHCENICURUS (Linn.). Mr. Kibort has sent me a skin of the Common Redstart from the neighbourhood of Kras-no-yarsk' a male in breeding-plumage ; so that no doubt can now attach to the easterly range of this species. CYANECULA SUECICA (Linn.). Mr. Kibort has sent me a skin of this species, from Kras- no-yarsk', in the spotted plumage of the young before migration, whence I conclude that the Bluethroat occa- sionallv breeds as far south as lat. 50. 192 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. SAXICOLA ISABELLINA, Riipp. Mr. Kibort has sent me two skins of this Chat from Kras- no-yarsk'. MTJSCICAPA GRISOLA, Linn. Mr. Kibort has sent me four skins of the Spotted Fly- catcher obtained near Kras-no-yarsk'. MUSCICAPA PARVA, Bechst. Dr. Theel obtained a female of this species in lat. 61|. ALSEONAX LATIROSTRIS (Raffl.). Mr. Kibort has sent me three skins of this Flycatcher from Kras-no-yarsk'. ARUNDINAX AEDON (Pall.). Mr. Kibort has sent me three skins, from the neighbour- hood of Kras-no-yarsk', of this interesting bird. HYPOLAIS CALIGATA (Eversm.) . Mr. Kibort has sent me three skins of this species from Kras-no-yarsk'. I think there can be little doubt that this bird is the Motacilla salicaria of Pallas. Dr. Theel obtained a specimen in lat. 61. PHYLLOSCOPUS FUSCATUS, Blyth. Dr. Theel found this species as far north as lat. 59. PHYLLOSCOPUS TROCHILUS (Linn.). The name of this species does not occur in the list of skins, identified by Mr. Meves, obtained on the Swedish expedition. I found it plentiful in the valley of the Yen-e-say'. LOCUSTELLA CERTHIOLA (Pall.) . Dr. Theel obtained an adult bird of this species in lat. 62. ACROCEPHALUS DUMETORUM, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xviii. p. 815. Mr. Kibort has sent me several skins of this bird from Kras-no-yarsk'. Dr. Theel describes it as common between that town and Yen-e-saisk'. He found it breeding in lat. 59, and obtained a nest "with two eggs. Mr. Meves describes the eggs as similar to those of Locustella n&via, having a pale rust-red ground-colour, with many greyish-red spots. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 193 CYPSELUS APUS (Liim.). Dr. Theel informs me that he observed the Swift abundant at Kras-no-yarsk' and Yen-e-saisk'. He afterwards observed it in lat. 60, and again in lat. CAPRIMULGUS EUROP^EUS, Linn. Mr. Kibort has sent me the skin of a female Goatsucker from Kras-no-yarsk'. Dr. Theel recognized its peculiar note in lat. 59. ALCEDO ISPIDA, Linn. Dr. Theel informs me that he saw a Kingfisher near Kras- no-yarsk'. COLUMBA PALUMBUS, Linn. Dr. Theel was informed on good authority that the King- Dove occasionally .occurs near Kras-no-yarsk'. COLUMBA CENAS, Linn. Dr. Theel was informed that the Stock-Dove is occasionally found near Kras-no-yarsk'. He saw a bird which he took to be this species at Nasimova, in lat. 59^. COTURMX COMMUNE Bonnat. Mr. Kibort has sent me a skin of the common Quail from Kras-no-yarsk' ; and Dr. Theel heard its unmistakable note in lat. 61. STREPSILAS INTERPRES, Linn. Dr. Theel observed this species in lat. 70. ^GIALITES CURONICA (Gmel.). Dr. Theel found this species breeding at Yen-e-saisk', and observed it as far north as lat. 60^. CREX PRATENSIS, Bechst. Dr. Theel observed the Corn-crake at Kras-no-yarsk' and as far north as lat. TOTANUS FUSCUS (Linn.). Dr. Theel observed this species about lat. 69, and obtained a young bird. 194 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. CALIDRIS ARENARIA (Linn.). Numerous flocks of this species were seen by the Swedish Expedition of 1875 at the mouth of the Yen-e-say'. TRINGA TEMMINCKI, Leisl. This species was first met with by Dr. Theel on the 22nd of July, in lat. 65^, which probably represents the southern limit of its breeding-range. ANAS BOSCHAS, Linn. Dr. Theel observed the Mallard up to lat. 60. FULIGULA CRISTATA (Leach) . Dr. Theel shot a Tufted Duck in lat. 68. (EDEMIA FUSCA (Linn.). Dr. Theel observed the Velvet Scoter in lat. 69 and 69i- STERNA LONGIPENNIS, Nordm. Dr. Theel obtained a Tern in lat. 63, which Mr. Meves has identified as belonging to this species. In my first paper on the ornithology of Siberia, I fear that I scarcely did justice to Prjevalsky. It appears that I was misinformed as to the scientific knowledge of ornithology possessed by this great traveller. His fame as an explorer of almost unknown districts of Central Asia, however, is so great that it almost obscures the fact that he has added very largely to our knowledge of the ornithology of that interesting region. I may also take this opportunity of expressing my pro- found regret at the untimely death of my friend, Valerian von Russow. He had been engaged for some months in an ornithological expedition in Turkestan. Just before his return home I had a letter from him, dated Samarcand, telling me of his success ; the next intelligence I received was that he had died of smallpox within a week of his arrival in St. Petersburg. In Russow ornithology has lost an enthusiastic field-naturalist, who was rapidly acquiring the scientific knowledge of birds which can only be attained where large series of skins are available for comparison. Notes on Mr. R. B. Sharpens Catalogue of Accipitres. 195 His position in the St. -Petersburg Museum is now filled by Modeste Bogdanow, who has lately published a work on the Birds of the Caucasus, and whose recently issued article on the Birds of the Black-earth Zone of the Volga and its Central and Lower valleys contains some excellent field -notes. XVI. Notes on a 'Catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum* by R. Bowdler Sharpe (1874). By J. H. GURNEY. [Continued from ' The Ibis,' 1879, p. 470.] FROM the genus Henicopernis, which I last considered, the transition is easy to that of Pernis, to which I now propose to refer, and, in doing so, to allude first to the only European species of the genus, P. apivorus. Mr. Sharpe does not mention the Asiatic range of this species, and refers but briefly to the southern limits of its winter migration, which extend to the African continent and have even been known to reach (though very rarely) South Africa and Madagascar. So far as I know, but one instance (that of a specimen in the British Museum) is recorded of the occurrence of Pernis apivorus in Madagascar, and but three of its appearance in South Africa : one of these birds was obtained by Le Vail- lant, and described by him under the name of " Le Tachard " in the ' Oiseaux d'Afrique/ vol. i. p. 82; and the other two occurred in Natal, as recorded in ' The Ibis ' for 1859, p. 240, and for 1860, p. 204*. Several more northerly African localities where Pernis apivorus has been met with as a winter migrant are men- tioned in the article on this species in Mr. Dresser's ' Birds of Europe/ where many details are also given as to its Euro- pean habitats, and some relating to its Asiatic range ; but that article does not refer to its occurrence in Siberia (where it is * One of these Natal specimens is preserved in the Norwich Museum ; the other I have unfortunately lost sight of. 196 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on said to have been found by Pallas*), nor to its occasional presence in Northern China, as recorded by M. David, and it leaves the question undecided as to whether the Pernis which has been found in Japan really belongs to this species. The learned authors of the " Animalia Vertebrata " in the ( Fauna Japonica/ at p. 24 of their volume on the ornithology of that country, write thus : " Pernis apivorus ; cette espece .... qui se trouve, suivant Pallas, quoique en petit nombre, dans toute la Siberie, habite egalement le Japon, d'ou nos voyageurs ont apporte en Europe deux femelles adultes, qui ne se distinguent ni par leurs formes, ou par leurs dimen- sions, ni par leurs formes ou leur organisation, des individus tues dans les differentes contrees que nous venons de nom- mer " (i. e. Europe, Guinea, Egypt, and Arabia) . Professor Schlegel, in his ' Museum des Pays-Bas/ Pernes, p. 2, under the head of Pernis apivorus, has the following entry, which probably refers to one of the above-mentioned specimens : " Femelle, plumage parfait, Japon, Voyage de Burger." I regret that I omitted, when at Leyden some years since, to examine this Japanese specimen ; but Mr. Sharpe, who has subsequently visited the Leyden Museum, appears to have arrived at the conclusion that it is referable to P. ptilo- rhynchus, as in his list of the synonyms of that species he includes " Pernis apivorus, Temm. & Schl. Faun. Japon. Aves, p. 24," which Captain Legge also does in his work on the Birds of Ceylon, p. 89. Mr. Seebohm informs me that it was on the authority of this item in Mr. Sharpens volume, that he stated in ' The Ibis ' for 1879, at p. 42, that the Japanese Pernis " was in- correctly identified by Temminck and Schlegel with the Euro- pean Honey-Buzzard," and that he has not himself seen a Japanese specimen. Mr. Sharpe also refers to P. ptilorhynchus Lusciniola aedon (Muscicapa aedon, Pall.) ; Synonymy in the Family Sylviiclae. 277 L. gracilirostris (Calamodyta gracilirostris, Hartl.); L.mela- nopogon (Sylvia melanopogon, Tcmm.) ; L. major (Dumeticola major, Brooks) ; L. luteiventris (Tribura luteoventris, Hodgs.) ; L.thoracica (Dumeticola thoracica, Blyth) ; L.flaviventris(Ho- rornis flaviventer, Hodgs.) ; L. fuscata (Phyllopneuste fuscata, Blyth) ; L. schwarzi (Sylvia (Phyllopneuste) schwarzi, Radde) ; L. armandi (Abrornis armandi, Milne-Edwards) ; L. indica (Sylvia indica, Jerdon) ; L. fuliginiventris (Horornis fuligini- venter, Hodgs.) ; and L. neglecta (Phylloscopus neglectus, Hurne) . Arundinax flemingi, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 440. Herbivocula incerta, David et Oustal. Ois. de la Chine, p. 246 (1877). Oreopneuste affinis, David et Oustal. Ois. de la Chine, p. 267 (1877). A careful examination of the type of the first-mentioned bird in the Swinhoe collection, of the description of the second (the type having been lost) , and of the type of the third in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, leads me to the conclusion that these three supposed new species may be all referred to Phylloscopus schwarzi (Radde). They vary slightly in size, but not more so than individuals of allied species usually do, and the slight variations of colour are apparently only seasonal. In relative length of wing and tail, in wing-formula, and in shape of bill they do not differ. Tribura luteiventris, Hodgs., apud David et Oustal. Ois. Chine, p. 239. Abbe David's skins in the Museum of the Jardin de Plantes in Paris are incorrectly identified. The Upper parts are olive-brown instead of russet-brown, and the wings are longer instead of shorter than the tail. They are the supposed young in first winter plumage of Dumeticola thoracica of Blyth, the Dumeticola affinis of Taczanowski, from Lake Baical, of Prjevalski from Kansu, and of Abbe" David from Moupin. Lusciniopsis brevipennis,VeiT. N. Arch. Mus. Bull. vi. p. 65 (1871). Dumeticola mandelli, Brooks, Stray Feathers, 1875, p. 28 & These two supposed new species agree precisely in dimrn- 278 Corrections of Synonymy in the Family Sylviidse. sions, relative length of wings and tail, wing-formula, and shape of bill with Tribura luteoventris, Hodgs. The type of the former, in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, agrees also in colour; but the types of the latter, in Man- delli's collection, present slight variations. One skin has spots on the throat, and the other traces of slate-grey on the breast. I imagine these only to be seasonal changes ; but they may prove hereafter to be specific characters, as Blyth suspected to be the case in his nearly allied Dumeticola thoracica. Phyllopneuste trochilus, Hodgson, Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 82 (1844) . The type, formerly in the India Museum, and now in the British Museum, is a skin of Phylloscopus lugubris, Blyth. Abrornis xanthog caudae 72, tarsi 20. lynx pulchricollis belongs to a singular little group of African Wrynecks, of which two other species of very similar appearance are known, /. pectoralis, Vig., from South Africa, and /. (equator ialis, Riipp., from Abyssinia and Shoa. Both are rare in museums ; but of the latter species there is a very fine male in the Bremen collection, and specimens of both sexes of /. pectoralis are in the Berlin Museum (Krebs, Caf- fraria), where I have compared them with my new species. As to /. aquatorialis it will suffice to remark that the great extent of the rufous colour on the underparts, reaching from the chin to the abdomen, is quite sufficient to distin- guish it from the new /. pulchricollis. Much nearer to it comes /. pectoralis. The principal differential characters between these two species are the following : (1) In /. pec- tor alls the rufous guttural spot, in a gradually narrowing stripe, runs up to the chin, whereas in /. pulchricollis the whole fore neck (including the chin) shows very regular black and white fasciae. (2) The under tail-coverts are deep rufous in /. pulchricollis and light fulvous in 7. pectoralis. (3) The stripes on the abdomen are much broader and somewhat shorter in /. pulchricollis. (4) The beak is more slender and the culmen more curved in the latter species. (5) The bars of the tail are broader and much better defined in /. pulchri- collis than in I. pectoralis. (6) The markings of the uro- pygium and the upper tail-coverts, nearly obsolete in 7. pec- toralis, are very elegant and conspicuous in 7. 30 Mr. H. Seebohm's Contributions The form of the tail-feathers is different in the tyro nes, these being much broader and more obtusely routed at tnk tips in /. pulchricollis. (8) In /. pectoralis j&\ the greater quills have very distinct and regular rufous spots or bars on tntsdr inner webs ; in /. pulchricollis thgse spots are confined to tlte first quill ; in the others the inner web is of a nearly uniformslight rufous on its basal hm, the bars being almost obsolete. (^) /. pulchricollis is altogether the larger bird. There is no different in the coldur of the sexes of this species. Dr. Emin Bey discovered\tfiis interesting bird in one of his excursions east of the Bajr-ePDjebel. "All round Babira," he writes, " there is nurch cultivated ground, interspersed with groups of trees/and fine parl^-like scenery. Here it was that this Wryne'ck, a pair of which I send, was observed early in the morning searching for ants. \The birds are rather clumsy in theiXinovements, awkwardly hopping about. They fly short distances only, the flight being untshilatory. The note of the male is a repeated dii-i } which is ans\ered by the female/ They keep much on the ground. In rilHng they utte/'a sharp zick. Rare." IV. Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan. By HENRY SEEBOHM. I AM indebted to Capt. Blakiston for an opportunity of ex- amining a case of birds from Japan containing some examples of very great interest. The order in which the species are placed in the subjoined notes upon this collection is that adopted by Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer in their article on the birds of Japan (Ibis, 1878, p. 209). BRACHYRHAMPUS MARMORATUS. A skin sent (No. 1269), labelled #, Hakodadi, May," appears to belong to this species. Its short tarsus, much shorter than the middle toe, and blackish plumage, marbled to the Ornithuloyy of Japan. 31 with huffish chestnut on the upper parts and with white on the underparts, distinguish it from its allies. It is, however, very large, as the following comparison of measurements shows, and may possibly prove to belong to a new species : Mid. toe Wing. Tail. Culmen. Tarsus, and claw. Hakodadi 5-75 1-7 1-5 -8 1-36 B.marmoratn8(Uo\&*) 5'00 1-5 1-35 -7 1-2 BRACHYRHAMPUS WRANGELI. An example in the Swinhoe collection labelled " No. 1357, Hakodadi, ? , May," was identified by Swinhoe (Ibis, 1875, p. 458) with B. kittlitzi of Brandt. It measures wing5'25, tail 1*4, culmen 1*3, tarsus '7, middle toe and claw 1'3 inch. The upper parts are grey, most of the feathers tipped with pale grey, but many of them are dark brown with rufous tips. The underparts are very white, most of the feathers, especially on the breast and flanks, have dark brown tips. The under wing-coverts are nearly white. This spe- cimen cannot be the adult of any of the species enumerated by Coues, since both the species mentioned by him as having short tarsi are said to have the under wing-coverts dusky brown. A skin sent, labelled " No. 1918, Hakodadi, ? , Nov.," appears to be almost adult. The measurements agree with those of the last-mentioned skin, except that the culmen measures 1*4. The upper parts are nearly uniform greyish brown, with much, white on the scapulars. The underparts are white, except the flanks and axillaries, which are grey, and the inner wing-coverts, which are mottled grey and white. Probably the next moult would have brought it to the plumage described as B. wrangeli. SlMORHYNCHUS PYGM^EUS. The skin sent from Hakodadi (No. 3255) agrees fairly well with Coues's S. microceros, and another (No. 2291) from the same locality with the S. pusillus of the same author. Probably, as Dr. Coues suggests, the latter is the young of the former, in which case he is of opinion that Gmelin's name ought to be used. 32 Mr. H. Seebohm's Contributions COLYMBUS ADAMSI. The skin sent (No. 3256) is an immature example of this species from Hakodadi, with a nearly white bill. A fine adult male was lately to be seen in the Fisheries Exhibition, collected by Baron Nordenskiold in the Arctic Ocean. ANSER CYGNOIDES. The skin sent (No. 3247) from Yokohama is correctly identified. ANSER HYPERBOREUS. The skin sent (No. 3246) from Yokohama is correctly identified, the wing measuring 17| inches. BERNICLA BRENTA. The skin sent (No. 3239) from Yokohama belongs to the form of the Brent Goose (var. nigricans) with the black of the breast extending to the belly, and the white on the neck almost in a complete ring. STERNA SINENSIS. The skin sent (No. 3241) from Yokohama belongs to this species, which is new to Japan. The shafts of the primaries are white. LARUS BOREALIS. The skin sent (No. 2787) from the Kurile Islands is an example of the Arctic Herring-Gull, originally described * by Brandt from Siberia, and afterwards by Reinhardt from Greenland. LARUS TRIDACTYLUS. The skin sent (No. 2742) from the Kurile Islands is cor- rectly identified. STERCORARIUS CREPIDATUS. The skin sent (No. 2696) from the Kurile Islands belongs to this species. STERCORARIUS POMATORHINUS. The skin sent (No. 1637) from Tokio Bay is an immature example of this species, which is new to Japan. * [Where is this original description published ? EDD.] to the Ornithology of Japan. 33 ATTAGEN MINOR. The skin sent (No. 2751) from Hakodadi is correctly identified, the length of wing being 21 inches. PROCELLARIA LEUCORRHOA. The skin sent (No. 2748) from Yezo is correctly identified. PROCELLARIA FURCATA. The skin sent (No. 1819) from the Kurile Islands is cor- rectly identified. PUFFINUS GRISEUS. The skin sent (No. 2695) from the Kurile Islands belongs to this species. TEREKIA CINEREA. The skin sent (No. 2793) from Yokohama is correctly identified. TRINGA PLATYRHYNCHA. The skin sent (No. 1486) from Hakodadi is correctly identified. Dresser is, I believe, in error in supposing that the East-Siberian bird differs from that of Europe. MACHETES PUGNAX. The skin sent (No. 1869) from Hakodadi is correctly identified. PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS. The skin sent (No. 2700) from the Kurile Islands is cor- rectly identified. SCOLOPAX NILSONI. The skin sent (No. 1503) from Hakodadi may belong to this species, which has previously been recorded from Japan. SCOLOPAX GRISEA. The skin sent (No. 1707) from East Yezo is that of a female in first autumn plumage of this species. A second example was obtained at Yokohama in March, and from the description is an adult in winter plumage. This American species is an addition to the birds of Japan. It has occurred in North- east Siberia (Tacz. Journ. Orn. 1873, p. 112), and is in- SER. v. VOL. ii. D 34 Mr. H. Seebohm's Contributions eluded in the list of British birds, more than a dozen examples having been obtained in this country. TRINGA SUBMINUTA. TRINGA RUFICOLLIS. Both these species pass along the coasts of China and Japan in spring and autumn, but I have not seen any ex- amples of T. minuta from either of these countries. These three species are often confused together. T. subminuta may always be distinguished by its large feet. T. ruficollis in spring plumage may always be known by its chestnut throat and breast, and in winter plumage by the absence of chestnut margins to the two centre tail-feathers. TRINGA CANUTUS. The skin sent (No. 2794) from Yokohama is correctly identified. NUMENIUS LINEATUS. NUMENIUS CYANOPUS. NUMENIUS VARIEGATUS. NUMENIUS MINUTUS. There are two Curlews and two Whimbrels in Japan. N. lineatus is the Eastern form of our Curlew, from which it is probably only subspecifically distinct. It differs from our bird in having the rump and axillaries pure white, characters which are very rarely met with, and possibly never united in European birds. It has also a longer bill, as the following measurements, in inches, of the culmen will show : Females. Males. N. lineatus 8 to 6| 6 to 5| N. arquatus 6| to 5| 6 to 4| N. cyanopus (N. aus trails and N. rufescens of Gould, and N. major of Temminck and Schlegel) is of about the same size, but differs from both forms of the Common Curlew in having the rump of the same colour as the back and upper tail- coverts. It varies enormously in the length of: the beak, the culmen of males varying from 4J to 6| inches, and of females from 7| to 8J inches. to the Ornithology of Japan. 35 N. variegatus, Scopoli (ex Sonnerat ; N. uropygialis of Gould), is the Eastern form of our Whimbrel, and doubtfully distinct from it, having the rump streaked instead of white. N. minutus is a miniature N. cyanopus, the wing measuring only 7J instead of 12 inches in length. IBIS PROPINQUA. The skin sent (No. 1829) from Yedo is correctly identified. BUBULCUS COROMANDUS. The skin sent (No. 3215) from Tokio is correctly identified. BUTORIDES MACRORHYNCHUS. The skin sent (No. 2811) from Nagasaki is correctly iden- tified. It seems doubtful if this species is distinct from B. javanicus. ARDEOLA PRASINOSCELES. The skin sent (No. 2677) from Hakodadi belongs to this species, which has not hitherto been recorded from Japan. It was described by Swinhoe from South China, but seems to be doubtfully distinct from A. leucoptera. RALLTTS BAILLONI. The skin sent (No. 2717) from Yokohama is Baillon's Crake. It does not differ in size from European examples. TETRAO BONASIA. The skin sent (No. 3242) from Hakodadi is a typical Hazel-Grouse, neither the short-tailed pale Siberian form nor the rufous South-European form. LAGOPUS MUTUS. The skin sent (No. 3243), from an elevation of 9250 feet above the level of the sea, about a hundred miles to the north-west of Yokohama, on the main island of Japan (not from Northern Japan, as erroneously stated by Saunders, Yarr. Brit. B. iii. p. 86), appears to belong to the Common Ptarmigan. TURTUR ORIENTALIS. The skin sent (No. 2367) from Yezo belongs to this species, D2 36 Mr. H. Seebohm's Contributions which has already been recorded from Japan by Whitely (Ibis, 1867, p. 204) as T. rupicola, and by Swinhoe (Ibis, 1874, p. 162) as T. gelastes. CUCULUS HIMALAYANUS. The skins sent (Nos. 2710, 2711) from Fujisan are the C. himalayanus of Vigors apud Jerdon. The wings measure 7'9 inches. CUCULUS HYPERYTHRUS. The skin sent (No. 2709) from Fujisan belongs to this species. It is the Hierococcyx fug ax of Horsfield apud Blakiston and Pryer. It appears to me that the adult of this species is unknown. All the skins I have seen have longitudinal streaks on the underparts, such as are charac- teristic of immature birds of the Hierococcyx group of Cuckoos, to which it evidently belongs. Picus MINOR. Three skins sent from Yezo are of typical P. minor, much darker on the underparts, and much more streaked, espe- cially on the breast and flanks, than P. minor var. pipra, which ranges from Archangel to Kamtschatka. Two ex- amples in my collection from the island of Saghalien, and one from the Altai Mountains, are paler underneath, but are streaked on the breast and flanks. A British example only differs from these skins from Yezo in having the flanks barred instead of streaked, a feature characteristic of P. minor var. danfordi from Asia Minor. UPUPA EPOPS. The skin sent (No. 2125), caught at sea off the south-east coast of Yezo, belongs to the typical form of the Hoopoe. ZOSTEROPS JAPONICA. A skin (No. 3250) bought from a native bird-dearer, and said to have been caught in the interior of the main island, is very large. It measures wing 2*5 inches, tail 1-8, culmen 77, tarsus *76. The rufous on the breast and flanks is some- what paler than usuaL to the Ornithology of Japan. 37 CEKTHIA FAMILIARIS. The skin sent (No. 3182) from Sapporo is of the arctic or pale form known as var. scandulaca. MAGNIROSTRIS. The skin sent from Fujisau, near Yokohama, belongs to this species, which is new to Japan. LANIUS MAJOR. The skin sent (No. 1097) from Hakodadi belongs to this species, which is also new to Japan. BUTALIS SIBIRICA. The skin sent (No. 2730) from Fujisan belongs to this species, which is also an addition to the fauna of Japan. PARUS ATER. Two females from Yezo are indistinguishable from Euro- pean skins; but a male (No. 3178) from the same locality has a decided crest, and must be referred to var. pekinensis. PARUS PALUSTRIS. Two examples (Nos. 3131, 3132) from Yezo belong to the form known as var. brevirostris, as does also an example from the Kurile Islands (No. 2799). ACREDULA ROSEA. The skin sent (No. 2732) from Yokohama is indistinguish- able from European examples, and can hardly claim to be called var. trivirgata. ^GITHALUS CONSOBRINUS. A second skin of a male (No. 2543) and one of a female (No. 2544) from Nagasaki, in the south island of Japan, appears to prove that this species, of which the type de- scribed by Swinhoe from Central China is in my collection, is a good one, differing from ^E.pendulinus in having no chestnut on the breast, a darker head, and less chestnut on the back. ACCENTOR RUBIOUS. The skin sent (No. 2227) from Tokio, at no great distance from Yokohama, agrees with Temminck and SchlegeFs figure in having no streaks on the flanks. Probably the Accentor 38 Mr. H. Seebohm's Contributions rubidus var. fervidus (Sharpe, Cat. B.B. M. vii. p. 653), with streaked flanks, is confined to the north island of Japan. ACCENTOR NIPALENSIS. The skin sent (No. 2731) from Fujisan, not far from Yo- kohama, agrees with the remains of the type of A. erythro- pygius in the Swinhoe collection. This hird has recently been made (Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. vii. p. 663) a sub- species of A. alpinus-, but I cannot find that it differs in any particular from A. nipalensis. ANTHUS LUDOVICIANUS. Mr. Blakiston has sent a fine series of fifteen examples of A.japonicus, all of which are absolutely identical with Ame- rican birds. One example is almost an exact duplicate of the bird figured in Swainson and Richardson's ' Fauna Boreali- Americana ' (see Seebohrn, Hist. Brit. B. ii. p. 248) . MOTACILLA BLAKISTONI, Seeb. Ibis, 1882, p. 91 *. I have now a fine series of this excellent species of both sexes in summer and winter plumage, both adult and young. They all have more white on the basal half of the primaries, especially the three first, than can be found in any of the allied species. The male has a black back in summer, but females in both seasons and males in winter have the back grey mottled with black. The ear-coverts, cheeks, and sides of the neck are always white, and in adults the shoulders are black and the secondaries white, or nearly so. The throat is black in summer and white in winter, but the breast is always black. MOTACILLA JAPONICA. This species may be recognized in both sexes, at both seasons and at all ages, by its stout bill and by its never having the cheeks and ear-coverts white ; they are black in adults and grey in the young. The only white on the head is the chin, forehead, and eye-stripe. In this species the back, throat, and breast of the male are always black, and of the female always dark grey. As in the preceding * [See Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. vi. p. 144. EDD.] to the Ornithology of Japan. 39 species, the shoulders are black and the secondaries white, but the first three primaries are only white on the outside half of the basal half of the inner web. MOTACILLA AMURENSIS. This species appears also to be perfectly distinct from its allies, and may be always distinguished from the preceding two species by its grey shoulders and secondaries. In the distribution of the white on the three first primaries it agrees with M.japonica. The male in summer plumage has a black back, suffused with grey on the rump, but the male in winter and the female in summer have grey backs. The throat is black in summer and white in winter, but the breast is always black. The only species with which this bird is likely to be confused is M. ocularis. From this, however, it is perfectly distinct, with an entirely different geographical range. M. amurensis bears the same relation to M. ocularis that M. yarrelli does to M. alba, and is in every respect as distinct. The males can only be confounded in winter plumage, but the lighter slate-grey, especially on the rump, of M. ocularis is a sufficient distinction. The latter species is not found in Japan. MOTACILLA SULPHUREA. A series of Japanese examples vary in length of tail from 3'6 to 3*7 inches, and are therefore of the var. melanope. MOTACILLA FLAVA. A skin from Canton and another (No. 2781) from the Kurile Islands have the head dark olive-green, the eye-stripe yellow, and the ear-coverts dark brown, and are therefore of var. taivanus. An example from Hongkong collected by Jouy also belongs to this form. CETTIA CANTANS. CETTIA CANTILLANS. Carefully sexed examples of these two species, collected by Mr.P.T. Jouy, of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, about the centre of the main island of Japan, seem to prove that I was wrong in uniting them. It is curious that two 40 Mr. H. Seebohm's Contributions species only differing in size should inhabit the same district ; but they appear to vary in length of wing, as under Males. Females. C. cantans 2'65 to 2-5 2-55 to 2-45 C. cantillans 2'2 to 2'15 2'15 to 2-05 ClSTICOLA CISTICOLA. There seems to be no doubt that the so-called C. brunneiceps is the summer plumage of the European Fantailed Warbler. MEGALURUS PRYERI, nov. sp. This is a most interesting addition to the fauna of Japan. The skin sent (No. P 5) was shot in Tokio, not very far from Yokohama. Its nearest ally is M. gramineus from Australia, but it differs from that species in having a shorter and more rufous tail, in having buff instead of white edges to the inner- most secondaries, and in having no spots on the throat, breast, or under tail-coverts. The general colour of the upper parts is chestnut-buff, each feather, except those of the forehead and rump, having an almost black centre, especially conspicuous on the back and innermost secondaries. The quills and tail-feathers are buffish brown, the latter with dark shaft-lines. The under- parts are chestnut-buff, shading into pale buff on the centre of the throat and belly, and on the axillaries and under wing- coverts. Bill black above, pale beneath. Legs, feet, and claws pale. The bill is Phylloscopine, and the rictal bristles very small. The second primary is about equal to the ninth, and about twice as long as the first. The tail, of twelve fea- thers, is Locustelline, and has no trace of black subterminal spots. Length of wing 2*32, tail 2'32, tarsus *8, culmen *5 inch. This bird (and its allies) might be placed in the genus Lus- ciniola. It is structurally the same as L. thoracica, but has the pattern of colour of Megalurus, and is so exactly inter- mediate between the two genera as to make it doubtful if they can be separated. TROGLODYTES PARVULUS. Three Wrens from the Yokohama district measure in length to the Ornithology of Japan. 41 of wing from 2'1 to T85 inch, and are indistinguishable from European examples, except that the underparts are slightly darker and more rufous. The smaller ones are absolutely in- distinguishable from examples from Vancouver's Island. An example from Hakodadi measures 2'1 inches in length of wing, and is slightly paler on the underparts. An example from the Kurile Islands is still paler underneath, but not quite so pale as European examples : it measures 2*15 inches in length of wing, and the culmen '66 inch. Nothing can be more misleading than to dignify these climatic races with the rank of species. The Japanese Wren is known as T. parvulusv&r.fumigatus ; but to distinguish it even as a variety from T. alascensis and T. pacificus can only be regarded as hair-splitting, the extremes in a series of any one variety overlapping the extremes of the nearest allied varieties. MERULA CARDIS. Among the examples sent of this species is one (No. 724) from Hakodadi of the young in first plumage, which was hitherto unknown. The general colour is brown, but most of the feathers of the upper parts have chestnut shaft- streaks and black terminal bands. The throat and upper breast are spotted like the lower breast and flanks. Axillaries chestnut. MERULA CHRYSOLAUS. An example (No. 723) from Hakodadi of young in first plumage is new. The general colour resembles that of the adult, but most of the feathers of the upper parts have chestnut shaft-streaks and black terminal bands, and on the breast and flanks are arrow-shaped black spots. Axillaries grey. ALAUDA ARVENSIS. The Sky-Larks of Japan differ in size as much as ours do, the wing varying in length from 4'9 to 3'9 inches. They are slightly more rufous than our birds, and might be called var. japonica by ornithologists anxious to split hairs. A smaller race, var. ccelivox, also occurs in Japan, having the wing varying from 3'7 to 3*2 inches. 42 Contributions to the Ornithology oj Japan. EMBERIZA YESSOENSIS. Three examples from Yezo prove the distinctness of this species, which was figured in ' The Ibis ' for 1879, pi. i. SYRNIUM TJRALENSE. The skin sent (No. 3163) from Yezo is sexed a female, and dated October, but is no more rufous than examples from Krasnoyarsk (see Ibis, 1879, p. 180). BUBO BLAKISTONI, Seebohm, nov. sp. P. Z. S. Nov. 20th, 1883. It seems probable that the name of B. maximus must be erased from the list of Japan birds. The Owl which has hitherto done duty for this species in Japanese collections turns out to be almost generically distinct. The skin is dated Hakodadi, December. General colour of the upper parts brown, marbled with buff, which takes the form of transverse bars on the wings and tail; all the small feathers with broad dark-brown shaft- streaks. Underparts similar, but the shaft-streaks narrower. Chin and upper throat white, with very narrow shaft-streaks. Ear-tufts well developed. Tarsus feathered, but toes entirely bare. Length of wing 22 inches, tail 11, tarsus 3'8, culmen 2' 5. This bird is probably the largest known species of Owl, and forms a connecting link between the genera Bubo and Ketupa. It is perhaps nearest to B. coromandus, but is much larger, and is without any trace of feathers on the feet. SCOPS STICTONOTUS. . SCOPS JAPONICUS. A series from Hakodadi of the grey form to the rufous form presents almost every intermediate stage, and shows that these supposed species are only phases of plumage of a variable species, probably climatic varieties. SCOPS SEMITORQUES. Males appear to measure 6 inches in length of wing and females 7 inches. Mr. R. Ridgway on three Guatemalan Birds. 43 AQUILA CHRYSAETUS. The skin sent (No. P 7) from Yokohama is a young bird of this species. AQUILA LAGOPUS. The skins sent (Nos. 2666 and 1371) from Hakodadi are Rough-legged Buzzard Eagles. CIRCUS SPILONOTUS. The skin sent (No. 1491) from Hakodadi appears to be a young male of this species. The thighs are white streaked with chestnut ; the primary-coverts and the secondaries are very grey ; and there are obscure bars on all the tail-feathers, except the two centre ones. Another skin (P 8) from the main island appears to be a female in first plumage. The thighs are dark chestnut-brown, but all the tail-feathers are barred. ClRCUS jERUGINOSUS. Three examples from the main island of Japan are Common Marsh-Harriers, with almost white heads, unbarred tails, and dark chestnut thighs. V. Notes on three Guatemalan Birds. By ROBERT RIDGWAY. HAVING, through the kindness of Mr. Salvin, had the oppor- tunity of examining the type specimens of the following species, it affords me much pleasure to offer a few remarks concerning them, my apology for doing so being that they possess peculiar interest to me on account of their relation- ship, real or supposed, to certain North-American forms with which I have been enabled to make a careful comparison of them. 1. CHRYSOMITRIS ATRICEPS, Salvin, P. Z. S. May 1863, p. 190; Ibis, 1866, p. 194. This very distinct species is apparently most nearly related to C. spinescens, Bp., of New Granada. The coloration is very similar, but the olive-green tips to the greater wing- coverts and margins of the tertials are much broader, and the 44 Mr. R. Ridgway on three Guatemalan Birds. lower parts of quite a different colour, being yellowish olive (in some specimens dull greyish) instead of bright oil-yellow. C. spinescens likewise has no dusky on the chin or throat, and has a proportionately much smaller bill. With C. notata no comparison need be made, there being no close resemblance, except in the shape of the bill, which is similarly elongated and acute. 2. AMMODROMUS PETENICUS, Salvin, //. c. In general appearance this species resembles very closely the {< Coturniculus manimbe, var. dorsalis" of Hist. N. Am. B. vol. i. p. 549, but is quite distinct. It differs in lacking the yellow supraloral spot, which in the present bird is greyish white, in having a distinct dusky line along each side of the throat, of which there is no trace in C. dorsalis, in the much paler yellow of the wing-edge^ in the much darker colour of the lateral lower parts, and in the decidedly darker ground- colour of the dorsal surface. There are also other marked differences of coloration, but those mentioned are the most conspicuous. If the Fringilla manimbe, Licht., and its allies (Coturniculus peruanus , Bp., and the above-mentioned bird from the Argentine Republic, Uruguay, &c.) are rightly placed in the genus Coturniculus, the present bird would seem to belong there also, since it is very closely allied ; but I doubt the propriety of referring any of these birds to either Coturniculus or Ammodromus, all the typical species of which are distinguished by their very narrow and finely acuminate rectrices. 3. SPIZELLA PINETORUM, Salvin, //. c. This species is far more closely related to S. socialis than to S. pusilla ; indeed I cannot see why it should ever have been compared with the latter. The resemblance to S. so- cialis extends to all parts of the coloration, the pattern of which is identical in the two, but all the tints are much darker in S. pinetorum. Thus the crown is a very rich dark chestnut, much darker even than in the fully adult spring plumage of Melospiza palustris, while that of S. socialis is clear rufous, as much paler than the tint of M. palustris as Mr. J. H. Gurney on the Egyptian Nightjar. 173 on their basal portion, but rufous for the remainder of their length. The present specimen measures as under : inches. Wing 6-80 Tarsus 0-90 Middle toe s. u 0-85 Ear-tuft . . 0-60 XVII. Remarks on the Occurrence of the Egyptian Night- jar in Nottinghamshire. By J. H. GURNEY, Jun. ON the 23rd of June, 1883 (as recorded in 'The Zoologist/ p. 374), an Egyptian or Isabelline Nightjar (Caprimulgus (egyptius) was shot near Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire, and is now in the fine British collection of Mr. Joseph Whitaker, who had it while still in the flesh. Mr. H. E. Dresser figures two forms, the pale and the dark ; the difference is but slight, but it is apparently to the dark form that Mr. Whitaker's bird belongs. Mr. Dresser says the range of the Egyptian Nightjar is not very extensive, Egypt and Nubia appearing to be its true home (' Birds of Europe/ iv. p. 629) . I believe I saw a good many in Egypt, but, strange to say, never shot one. From seeing them in April, evidently coming north with the migratory stream, I supposed them to be summer visitants; but as Mr. E. C. Taylor informs me of his having shot some in December 1853, and as I have lately seen an example obtained at Komombo on February 12th, 1882, by Mr. F. Worthington, it is quite evident that the species, though a true migrant, is found in Egypt at all seasons. How far south it goes is not known, but westwards Mr. Dresser mentions (/. c.) that he has identified specimens from Baluchistan and Turkestan. Strange to say, it has not been met w r ith in Palestine, where, perhaps, its place is taken by C. asiaticus (C. tamaricis, Tristr.). The European occurrences, previous to the Nottinghamshire specimen now recorded, are Herr Gatke's Heligoland example, obtained SER. v. VOL. u. o 174 Mr. H. Seebohm on the eighty ears ago, on the same day but one as the EnglishJ}i*ft, ancTftHiee specimens obtained in Malta in thesprija^or 1876, recorded^in^is Journal (Ibis, 1881, p. 19g^bffrof . Giglioli, who adds that afrtjier was shot inSieiiyby Baron G. Caruso. Mr. Whitaker's bird m^kestljj&^ixth European specimen, and adds a third species o^me^gmus to the British list, the Red-necked Nig}ijtCr (C. ri/^co/^4iaving been already ob- tained here.^^ ^"\^ XVIII. Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan. By HENRY SEEBOHM. (Plate VI.) Two more, collections of Japanese birds, for which I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. F. Ringer of Nagasaki and Mr. H. Henson of Hakodadi, enable me to add a few species to the list of birds from these islands, and to correct some errors in the identification of those already recorded. PHALERIS PSITTACULA. An example obtained by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands is correctly identified. MORMON CORNICULATUS. An example collected by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands is correctly identified. BRACHYRHAMPHUS KITTLITZI. A male collected by Mr. H. Henson at Hakodadi on the 23rd of March is intermediate between no. 1269 and no. 1357 ('Ibis/ 1884, p. 30), and points to the conclusion that these four examples may be four stages, from young to adult, of one species, probably B. kittlitzi. I am expecting further skins from Kamtschatka, which may tfyrow more light on the subject. URIA COLUMBA. An adult example (No. 2795) collected by Mr. Snow in the Kurile Islands, and an immature female (no. 1850) from Ornithology of Japan. 175 Hakodadi, are correctly identified. Mr. Hensoii has also sent an adult and an immature example of U. car bo. BERNICLA NIGRICANS. An example of the Black Brent Goose sent by Mr. Ringer from Nagasaki agrees with examples from Yedo Bay and Hakodadi, and has hitherto been erroneously identified as the Brent Goose (Ibis, 1878, p. 212). There are sixteen feathers in the tail. It is an almost uniform dark brown, the head, neck, and breast nearly black, except a white crescent streaked with black on the fore neck, nearly meeting on the hind neck. Examples of the Brent Goose with the very dark underparts below the breast are found in England on the Essex and Lincolnshire coasts, together with typical birds ; and in some of them the white on the neck is almost as much developed as in the Black Brent Goose. This species is said to be found on both coasts of North America, but very rarely on the east coast. It was first de- scribed by Lawrence (Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. N. York, iv. p. 171). The volume is dated 1848, but the paper was read on the 16th of March, 1846. This bird must not be con- founded with B. hutchinsi from Hakodadi (Ibis, 1882, p. 369), which is paler and has the belly nearly white, and large triangular patches of white covering the cheeks and ear- coverts on each side of the head, as in B. canadmsis, of which it is a small form, and with which it is probably conspecific. B. leucopareia is another form of the size of B. canadtnsis, but differing from it and B. hutchinsi in having a pale ring round the lower throat. TADORNA CORNUTA. Several examples collected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki are correctly identified. QUERQUEDULA CIRCIA. Examples of the Garganey have been sent by Mr. Ringer from Nagasaki. Capt. Blakiston has obtained it also in Yezo. o2 176 Mr. H. Seebohm on the FULIGULA PEEINA. Capt. Blakiston has sent an example of the Pochard from Hakodadi. STERCORARIUS BUFFONI. An example (no. 2753) collected by Mr. Snow in the Kurile Islands is correctly identified. PUFFINUS LEUCOMELAS. A number of specimens collected by Mr. H. Henson at Hakodadi agree with the plate in the ' Fauna Japonica/ PUFFINUS CARNEIPES. Several examples collected by Mr. H. Henson at Hakodadi appear to belong to this species. The under surface of the wing is dark, and the legs and feet are pinkish. DlOMEDEA NIGRIPES. A fine adult female of this Albatross shot by Mr. H. IJenson on the 17th of May in the Strait of Tsugaru, sepa- rating Yezo from the main island, adds another species to the fauna of Japan. It differs from the other dark Albatross from Japan (D. derogata) in being slightly smaller, in having dark instead of pale legs and bill, and in having the head much paler in colour, especially round the base of the bill. The bill is also smaller, measuring 4J inches from the frontal feathers instead of 5 inches. This is said to be a good species, though it has all the appearance of being the young of the nearly white Albatross (D. albatrus), of which I have an adnlt male obtained by Mr. H. Henson at Hakodadi on the 4th of April, which agrees in dimensions with a skin in the Swinhoe collection from Amoy. In Mr. Ringer's collection is also an example of D. albatrus from Nagasaki. GOISACHIUS MELANOLOPHUS. An example (No. 2714) from the main island, and a series of examples collected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki, belong to this species. It is not found in Yezo. ARDEA SACRA. Two Reef-Herons from the islands in the Straits of Corea probably belong to this species. They are an almost uniform Ornithology of Japan. 177 dark slate-grey, with a narrow streak of white on the throat. They measure: wing 12'5, 11*0; bill in front 3*6, 3'4; tarsus 3'5, 3'0 ; mid-toe without claw 2'6, 2'4 ; bare portion of tibia 1-6, 1'3. The range erf this species appears to extend from the Andaman Islands eastwards to Burma, the Malay Archipelago, Japan, and the north-east coasts of Australia. Almost everywhere it seems to be accompanied by a white variety, with which it appears to interbreed, producing pie- bald examples. It is said, however, that in South-east Aus- tralia and in New Zealand the slate-grey form alone occurs. Both forms, however, are recorded from some of the Pacific islands. From Ceylon eastwards as far as West Africa a very nearly allied species, A. gularis, is found in both the slate- grey and white forms. It is said to differ in having the chin, throat, and sides of the head white, and in being a somewhat larger bird ; but ornithologists are not agreed on the specific distinctions between these species. Examples of the slate- grey form of the eastern species collected by Siebold in Japan are recorded by Schlegel (Mus. Pays-Bas, Ardese, p. 27), but no mention is made of them in the ' Fauna Japonica/ GRITS CINEREA. Of the six Cranes which breed in Eastern Siberia five are recorded from Japan. Of these, only four appear in Tem- minck and SchlegcFs ' Fauna Japonica/ the Sacred or Mantchurian Crane being omitted, no doubt for the very good reason that the Japanese would not allow Siebold or his collectors to procure one. The Common Crane is a winter visitor to Japan, but many only pass on migration, wintering still further south. GRITS LEUCOGERANUS. The same remarks apply to the Asiatic White Crane. GRUS LEUCAUCHEN. Grus antigone, Linn, apud Pallas. Grus vipio, Pall, apud David and Oustalet. Grus antigone ?, Linn, apud Blakiston and Pryer. The White-naped Crane is the most abundant Crane in Japan. Mr. Ringer has sent two skins from Nagasaki. 178 Mr. H. Seebohm on the GRUS MONACHUS. The White-headed Crane, according to 1'Abbe David, breeds in Japan. Mr. Ringer has sent three skins collected in Nagasaki. VIRIDIROSTRIS. Grus j aponensis } Briss. Grus leucauchen, Temra. apud Blakiston and Pryer. This is the Sacred Crane of the Japanese. It is probably only a winter visitor to Japan, and the account of its habits in that island, quoted in the ' Natural History of the Cranes ' by Tegetraeier from Sir E/utherford Alcock, refer to this species, though they are erroneously ascribed to the White- naped Crane by Tegetmeier, who has further complicated the subject by including the name Grus antigone, Linn. apud Pallas, in the synonymy of both the White-naped and Sarus Cranes ; and that of Grus j aponensis, Briss., in the synonymy both of the White-naped and Mantchurian Cranes. Mr. Ringer has sent an example of the Mantchurian Crane from Nagasaki. RHYNCH^EA BENGALENSIS. A male collected by Mr. H. Henson at Hakodadi on the 22nd of May is the first example of this species obtained in Yezo. . GALLICREX CRISTATA. An example of this species collected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki is an addition to the Japanese fauna. GALLINULA CHLOROPUS. An example (No. 3249) from Yokohama agrees with European specimens. FULICA ATRA. An example (No. 3248) from Yokohama, and an example collected by Mr. H. Henson at Hakodadi, agree with Euro- pean specimens. OTIS DYBOWSKII. An example of a male Bustard collected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki agrees with Taczanowsky's description of the Ornithology of Japan. 179 eastern form of the Great Bustard. It is somewhat smaller than the western bird, the bill is slightly longer and more slender, the head is paler in colour, and the lesser wing- coverts are grey, like the greater and median wing-coverts, instead of being mottled with brownish buff and black, like the back. Dybowsky states that he has obtained both adult and young from Dauria ; and what seem to be young males of the western form in the Cambridge Museum have the lesser wing- coverts coloured as in the adult, so that it would appear that the species is distinct. LAGOPUS RUPESTRIS ? A specimen of a Ptarmigan was shot by Mr. Snow on the nearest of the Kurile Islands to Kamtschatka, which is pro- bably the Rock-Ptarmigan. It is pure white, except the tail-feathers and the lores, which are black. COLUMBA LIVIA. An example from Nagasaki is darker than usual. The Rock-Doves of Japan may be escaped birds which have taken possession of the caves on the coast; they occupy all the temples in Japan, and are fed by the devotees of Buddha. TURTUR HUMILIS. An example sent by Mr. Owston was obtained from a dealer at Yokohama, and was said to have been shot in the neighbourhood. CARPOPHAGA IANTHINA. A fine example collected by Mr. Pryer near Yokohama agrees with the figure in the ' Fauna Japonica.' Two examples collected by Mr. Ringer in Nagasaki are now in the British Museum . IYNGIPICUS SEEBOHMI, Hargitt, Ibis, 1884, p. 100. Mr. Oldfield Thomas has kindly compared examples of /. kisuki and this species with the types of the former in the Leyden Museum, and assures me that Temminck and SchlegeFs bird is unquestionably the same as examples col- lected by Mr. Ringer near Nagasaki on the island of Kiushiu. 180 Mr. H. Seebohm on the IYNX TORQUILLA. An example of this species (No. 1242), a male dated Hakodadi, May, was identified by Swinhoe (Ibis, 1874, p. 162) as lynxjaponica. A careful comparison of this skin and a series of skins from South China with European examples fails to show any differences either of colour or size which are not common to eastern as well as western birds. This species does not appear to present any climatic variations. CHELIDON DASYPUS. The type of this species from Borneo in the Leyden Museum has been compared with the type of C. blakistoni from Japan by Mr. Sharpe, who pronounces them to be identical. Bonaparte's name will probably be the one adopted by ornithologists. CoilVUS NEGLECTUS. An example in the collection of Captain Blakiston (No. 2701), obtained at Osaka, in the southern portion of the main island of Japan, appears to belong to an intermediate form between Corvus dauricus and C. neglectus. XANTHOPYGIA CYANOMEL^ENA. Capt. Blakiston has pointed out to me a most unaccount- able blunder in the British Museum Catalogue of Birds (iv. p. 251), with reference to the female of this species. Four examples collected by Mr. H. Henson near Hakodadi, and a fifth example from Canton in the Swinhoe collection, agree with the plate and description of Muscicapa gularis of the ' Fauna Japonica/ a name which Mr. Sharpe includes in the synonymy of X. cyanomelGna, admitting it to be the female of that species. Nevertheless in the description a young male is erroneously described as the female. The latter differs in having no trace of blue on any part of the plu- mage, and no white on the base of the tail-feathers. The pale tips to the greater wing-coverts and innermost secon- daries betray the immature birds at a glance. It appears to me that the plumage described by Mr. Sharpe as belonging to the adult female is that of the young male in first plumage, Ornithology of Japan. 181 of which I have seen no skins dated later than October. Spring examples of males of the year only differ from adults in having the pale tips to the greater wing-coverts and inner- most secondaries. The greenish-blue and purplish-blue fore- heads and crowns are found in both adults and males of the year. MOTACILLA BLAKISTONI. MOTACILLA AMURENSIS. Capt. Blakiston now regards these two forms as adult and young of one species, and I feel very much inclined to agree with him. The fact that the geographical distribution of the two forms, so far as it is known, coincides, is of itself strong presumptive evidence that both belong to one species. On this hypothesis M. amurensis can only be the bird of the year of M. blakistoni. One must lay the blame of having committed the blunder of separating them upon somebody ; and we propose to ascribe it to the complete ignorance of, and apparent indifference to, the facts connected with the moulting of birds displayed by all English ornithologists. Wagtails appear to have a complete moult, which includes their wing and tail-feathers, in their first autumn. M.japo- nica moults at once into its adult plumage. M. amurensis appears to have an intermediate stage between the young in first plumage and the adult after the second autumn moult. In the adult plumage I have described the bird as M. blakis- toni. In spring a partial moult takes place : all the small feathers of the bird of the year are moulted into the summer plumage of the adult, but the wing- and tail-feathers are not changed. In this stage I have described the bird as M. amurensis in adult spring plumage. This hypothesis leaves, however, two difficulties, which may be explained as follows : The amount of white on the wing of birds of the year must vary so much that what I have taken to be birds of the year of M. blakistoni are really only birds of the year in which the plumage is more adult than usual. We must also as- sume that the amount of black on the head varies to a still greater extent, so that the birds with black heads which I 182 Mr. H. Seebohm on the have regarded as adult male M. amurensis in winter plumage after the second moult are really birds of the year which have only moulted once, but for some cause or other have the black on the head almost as pronounced as in the adult. This variation in the plumage of birds of the year, especially in those which have two broods, is by no means a new fact in ornithology. Probably the young of the first broods moult in autumn into a plumage more nearly approaching that of the adult bird than that assumed by the young of the second broods. This conclusion is confirmed by a male in my collection obtained by Mr. Whitely at Hakodadi, on the 17th of April, which is in the adult spring plumage of M. amurensis, except the first primary of the right wing, which is in the adult plumage of M. blakistoni. This might be accounted for on the supposition that the first primary had been injured during the winter, and had been replaced at the spring moult by a feather of the adult plumage. ERITHACUS CYANEUS. An example (No. 1267) from Hakodadi is an adult male of this species collected in May. A skin (No. 3225) col- lected by Mr. Jouy in the middle of the main island in August has scarcely moulted its first plumage, and shows traces of dark terminal bars on the feathers of the throat and breast, which are suffused with buff. The greater wing- coverts have chestnut tips. ERITHACUS CALLIOPE. Several skins of this species have been sent by Capt. Blakiston from Yezo. EMBERIZA SPODOCEPHALA. This species, which is very common in China, was first recorded from Japan in 'The Chrysanthemum' for April 1883, by Capt. Blakiston, from a specimen collected near Tokio in January by Mr. P. L. Jouy, and now in the Smith- sonian Museum. I have examined this skin and find it to be an adult male with slate-grey throat and breast. The adult male of the nearly allied Japanese species, E. personata, is easily distinguished by the clear yellow of the underparts Ornithology of Japan. 183 below the chin. Females and immature males are sometimes difficult to distinguish, but in E. personata the underparts are generally a much brighter yellow. The latter species has not been found in China. STRIX RUFESCENS. Three examples from Nagasaki of this variety of S. ura- lensis are so dark and rufous as to appear specifically distinct. The lighter bars across the first primary and the two centre tail-feathers are almost obsolete. This form probably re- places S. uralensis in the main and south islands of Japan. BUBO BLAKISTONI, Seebohm, anteh, p. 42. (Plate VI.) An immature example of an Owl obtained in the neigh- bourhood of Shanghai by Mons. Heude is in the museum of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. It was determined by Mr. Sharpe (Ibis, 1875, p. 255) as Bubo coromandus, and adult examples since received from the valley of the Yang- tse-kiang have confirmed his decision. It had been de- scribed as Bubo sinensis (Heude, Ann. Sc. Nat. Paris, ser. 5, xx. article 2), a name apparently taken from Daudin (Traite d'Orn. ii. p. 209), who appears to have founded it upon an Eagle-Owl from China, which Manduyt (Encycl. Meth. Orn. ii. p. 73) says differs from our bird, but does not state in what respect. This bird is perfectly distinct from the Japan Eagle-Owl, Bubo blaldstoni, of which a figure (Plate VI.) is now given. PANDION HALIAETUS. Two examples of this bird, one a female from Hakodadi (No. 2061) obtained in October, and the other obtained by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki, agree in size with the typical form, and measure 19 J and 19 inches in length of wing. AQUILA PELAGICA. A fine example, not quite adult, of this magnificent Eagle from the eastern part of Yezo shows the enormous deve- lopment of bill in this species, the height of the bill being greater than that of the skull. It also confirms the inter- esting fact, pointed out by Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, that this species has fourteen tail-feathers. 184 Mr. H. Seebohm on the XIX. On the East- Asiatic Shore-Lark (Otocorys longi- rostris). By HENRY SEEBOHM. Otocoris longirostriSj Gould, fide Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1855, p. 215 (India). Otocorys penidllata, Gould, apud Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 318 (China). Otocorys alpestris, Linn, apud Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, p. 272 (China). Otocoris albigula, Brandt, apudDybowski, Journ. Orn. 1868, p. 334 (Dauria). Otocorys sibirica, Eversmann, fide Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 390 (China). Otocoris elwesii, Blanford, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 1872, p. 62 (Himalayas). Otocorys alpestris, Linn, apud Dresser, B. Eur. iv. p. 392 (1874) (China). Otocorys penidllata , Gould, apud Dresser, B. Eur. iv. p. 397 (1874) (India). Otocorys brandti, Dresser, B. Eur. iv. p. 401 (1874) (Kir- ghis steppes). Otocorys parvexij Taczan. Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 1876, p. 161 (Dauria). Otocoris nigrifronsj Prjevalski, Mongolia and Thibet, ii. p. 103 (1876) (Mongolia). Otocorys sibirica, Swinh., David & Oust. Ois. de la Chine, p. 316 (1876) (China). Habitat. A resident in Turkestan, the Himalayas, the Altai Mountains, Dauria, and Mongolia, occasionally wan- dering in winter into North China *, North India, and South- east Russia. The evolution of order out of chaos has the same charms for the ornithologist that the putting together of a puzzle has for a schoolboy. As an example of chaos let us take the * A specimen in Canon Tristram's possession, said to be from Pekin, and once in the Swinhoe collection, is a winter example (shot 12th Dec. 1863) of O. alpestris. David and Oustalet give the range of the two Bpecies very correctly. East-Asiatic Shore-Lark. 185 portions of the articles on the Shore-Larks in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe' referring to the species the name of which heads the present article. To this the same author has added an appropriate climax in his letter on the subject (Ibis, 1884, p. 116). As an example of order, I venture to refer to the synonymy and geographical distribution copied at the head of this article from my ' History of British Birds/ ii. p. 286*. I must do Mr. Dresser the justice to say that in the letter already mentioned he admits his error (long ago pointed out by Blanford and Scully) in uniting 0. longiros- tris with O. penicillata ; but in doing so he appears to imply that the rest of his work was free from important blunders, and does not deserve the mild censure which I applied to it. He has apparently forgotten that in the 'Birds of Europe' (iv. p. 396) he says that O. penicillata "extends east- wards into North China/' and contradicts himself on page 397, where he says that an example in the Swinhoe collec- tion from Tientsin is a long-billed form of O. brandti, a statement which is quite correct. But on page 392 he had re- ferred the very same skin to O. alpestris. Which of the three species does he really think it belongs to ? His treatment of O. elwesi is equally capricious. On page 395 he identifies it with O. penicillata ; but on page 401 he refers it to O. /- pestris. Unfortunately both these identifications are wrong. O. elwesi is unquestionably a somewhat small form of O. Ion- girostris. Of his blunder respecting the latter species little need be said, as he has recanted it; but his statement on page 401 that the series of Shore-Larks in the Gould col- lection from Kulu (one of which is the type of O. longirostris] all show the black on the breast united with that on the neck is utterly inexplicable. The fact is that not one of them does so, as any one may now see in the British -Museum collection; neither does the example depicted in the P. Z. S. by no less an artist than Wolf. We now come to the most " egregious blunder" of all. On page 397 Dresser * I have added to the synonymy the catalogue of Swiuhoe's and Dres- ser's blunders, which I purposely omitted in my book, not wishing to call special attention to their number and importance. 186 Mr. H. Seebohm on the comes to the conclusion that the pale southern ally of O. al- pestris with the white throat has not got a name, and pro- poses for it that of O. brandti. On page 398 he gives its geographical distribution as " probably restricted to the steppes of Southern Russia." Nevertheless it is a most remarkable fact that Dresser's ' Birds of Europe ' does not contain an article on a bird named by Dresser himself and supposed by him to be confined to Europe. As a matter of fact, the type appears to be a Sarepta skin, and there is also a skin from Astrakan in the British Museum ; but the latter has only recently been added to the national col- lection*. I doubt if a more puzzling bit of ornithological chaos than this could be found anywhere. It took me a week's hard work to unravel it ; but by a careful measurement and comparison of all the skins in my own collection and in that of the British Museum, I came to the conclusion that O. longirostris was a pale subtropical ally or representative of O. alpestris, which ranges across Central Asia from the basin of the Caspian to Mongolia, extending northwards through the Altai Mountains to Dauria, and southwards into the Himalayas. O. alpestris is a bird of the tundra, whilst O. longirostris is a bird of the steppes, and breeds from one to two thousand miles south of its arctic ally. The differences in size in the latter species at first puzzled me, but by com- paring measurements of skins from different localities I came to the conclusion, to which I still adhere, that O. brandti and 0. longirostris cannot be separated ; they are, in fact, united by O. elwesi-\, as Dresser might possibly have observed * Finsch, in his account of the Shore-Larks found by him in South- west Siberia, states positively that the black on the breast joins that on the cheeks ; but in two examples from his collection, now in the British Museum, this is not the case. He probably got both species, as Severtzow also obtained both in North-west Turkestan. t Severtzow at first separated O. brandti of North-west Turkestan from O. longirostris of East Turkestan (Ibis, 1876, p. 181) j but later he apparently united them, for in his " Birds of the Pamir " (Ibis, 1883, p. 61 ) he speaks only of O. ehvesi, adding that " in the Pamir a subspecies with a rather long beak predominates, but this difference is neither con- siderable nor constant." East-Asiatic Shore-Lark. 187 if he had taken the trouble to examine the material which has " come to light " since he wrote his articles in the ' Birds of Europe/ It seems to me that when the facts respect- ing them are known, no "unbiassed ornithologist" can doubt that these three forms all belong to one species. All three forms occur both in Turkestan and in the Himalayas, and are connected together by a series of intermediate forms, so that the division into two or three is a perfectly arbitrary one. I have only been able to get the measurements of three Mongolian skins; but as one of these is of the small form, one somewhat larger, and the third of the large form, there cannot be much doubt that the variation in Mongolian forms is the same. Precisely the same variation of size, both of wings and bill, occurs in O. penicillata, so that if there are two or three species of Eastern Asiatic Shore-Larks, there must also be the same of Western Asiatic Shore-Larks. The amount of black at the base of the upper mandible varies also irrespective of locality, and the variation is also found to nearly the same extent in 0. penicillata. The width of the white band which separates the black of the neck from the black of the breast seems to depend entirely on the make up of the skin. If the neck is stretched it looks broad, but if it is made up short it of course looks narrow. Winter skins show more white on the neck and forehead, because at that season many of the black feathers have pale tips, which are cast in spring. None of the characters pointed out appear to me to be of the slightest specific, or even subspecific, value, because they are not confined to birds from any one locality, nor are they confined to one species only, but appear to be individual variations common to the genus. Dresser appears to be shocked at a difference of '8 inch in the length of wing in one species, though he admits a similar difference in his skins of 0. penicillata, and both he and I agree to a variation of a whole inch in the length of wing of the Common Sky-Lark. Difference of size, where it is co- existent with difference of geographical distribution, may warrant subspecific distinction ; but where nature has not drawn a geographical distinction most ornithologists are con- 188 On the East- Asiatic Shore-Lark. tent to allow difference of size to be regarded as an indi- vidual peculiarity. The Common or Arctic Shore-Lark is a circumpolar bird, being found on the arctic prairies of America, as well as on the fjelds of Lapland and the tundra of Siberia. Two other species or subspecies of Shore-Larks occur in the American continent ; but I have not been able to see a large enough series to speak positively concerning them. So far as I am able to judge, Dresser's treatment of the American Shore- Larks is quite as careless as his work on the Asiatic species of this group. He represents O. alpestris as breeding throughout North America, the only other American species in his opinion being O. peregrina from Bogota. Both these statements appear to me to be entirely wrong, and contrary to the evidence so carefully collected by Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway. It appears to me that, in addition to O. alpestris, which breeds in the arctic regions of both continents, probably never below the limits of forest-growth, there is on the American continent a southern form, O. occi- dentalis, breeding on the plains of the upper valley of the Mississippi and the valley of the Missouri, which, like O. longirostris, has the throat white instead of yellow. The alleged intermediate forms between it and its southern ally I imagine to be either birds of the year of the southern species or faded summer examples of the northern species. In what respect O. occidentalis differs from O. longirostris I am unable to say. The third American species is 0. chry- solcema (of which O. peregrina is doubtless a synonym) . This bird is a tropical form of O. alpestris, and is a resident in Mexico and some of the adjoining United States, its range extending southwards into the extreme north-west of South America. It is said to differ from its arctic ally in being smaller and richer in colour, the yellow on the throat being even more brilliant than in the arctic species. Mr. H. Seebohru on Birds from Central China. 259 The preseiit species is, so far as we know, confined to the southern portion of India. Dr. Jerdon says it is found in the forests of Malabar, generally on high trees, and in pairs, both above and below the Ghats. He also procured it in the forests in the Chanda district, South-east of Nagpore. Capt. Butler (Str. F. 1880, p. 385) observes that it is rare in the Deccan and South Mahratta country, occurring sparingly along the Sahyadri range as far north as Khandala. Mr. Laird procured it in the forests north of Belgaum and in North Kanara. Mr. Davidson (Str. F. 1883, p. 354) says that ' ' in the Wynaad and Mysore country it is not a common bird, and found in pairs or parties sparingly distributed. It ascends the slopes of the hills to about 3000 feet." It is included in Mr. Hume's ( List of the Birds of the Travancore Hills/ having been obtained at Mynall by M. Bourdillon. XXX. On a Collection of Birds from Central China. By HENRY SEEBOHM. I AM indebted to the kindness of Mr. John M. Mitchell for allowing me to examine a collection of birds made in the valley of the Yang-tse-kiang river, in Central China, by Mr. Frederick Styan. They were principally obtained near Kiu- kiang, 450 miles up the river, and on the Lush an range of mountains, which lie directly behind Kiukiang, at a distance of five or six miles as the crow flies. These mountains run in a south-westerly direction for twenty miles or more, and the highest peak is about 5000 feet above the level of the sea. The hills are broken and rugged, and, for the most part, covered with dense scrub nearly breast-high. The highest range is covered with long coarse grass, and a few stunted pines creep up to the summit ; but up to about 2000 feet the pine-forests cover extensive areas. Mingled with the pines, but not, as a rule, extending quite so high, are large tracts of bamboos, amongst which are sprinkled mag- nolias, camphor- trees, camellias, laurels, azaleas, &c. 260 Mr. H. Seebohm on 9*. BUTEO VITLGARIS. An example with very conspicuously barred thighs, and with the tarsus feathered to within an inch of the toes, may fairly claim to be considered to belong to var. japonicus. 13. BUTASTER INDICUS. 15. FALCO PEREGRINUS. Kiukiang, December. 15 a. FALCO MELANOGENYS. A male and female, both shot on the 18th of March at Hai San, are pronounced by Mr. J. H. Gurney to be of this species. They differ from our Peregrine, which is probably only a winter visitor to Central China, in being slightly smaller, and in having the underparts below the breast much barred and suflPused with slate-grey ; but the most important character is the colour of the head and nape, which are nearly black, shading into slate-grey on the mantle. This species can scarcely be more than a local race of our Peregrine, breeding in Australia, ranging northwards to Borneo and Central China and westwards to Sumatra and Java, and intermediate in appearance between our bird and the North- west Indian race, F. atriceps, in which the whole of the upper parts are very dark slate-grey, approaching black. Mr. Gurney informs me that the Norwich Museum possesses an example from Amoy, the most northerly locality previously known. 23. MlLVTJS MELANOTJS. Four examples, large birds, showing much white at the base of the primaries below the under wing-coverts, and with little or no white on the forehead, are referable to this species, which can only be regarded as the eastern race of our Black Kite. 33. CIRCUS JERUGINOSUS. An example with dark-chestnut belly, thighs,, and under * The numbers refer to Swinhoe's " Catalogue of the Birds of China," published in the * Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London ' for 1871, pp. 337-423. Birds from Central China. 261 tail-coverts, and brown unbarred tail, is dated 30th November, and seems to prove that our Marsh- Harrier goes to China. 34. CIRCUS SPILONOTUS. A male, dated Kiukiang, 17th November, with the belly, thighs, and under tail-coverts white, with traces only of chestnut spots or shaft-lines, but with a barred tail, seems to belong unquestionably to the eastern form of the Marsh- Harrier. A female, dated a week later, has the tail more broadly barred, and the ground-colour of the underparts rufous instead of white, In both the primaries are barred. 40. ATHENE WHITELYI. An example dated Poyang Lake, January, seems to prove that all these Owls do not migrate south in winter. 55. OTUS BRACHYOTUS. An example, dated Kiukiang, 28th April, is rufous. 66. HlRUNDO GUTTURALIS. Kiukiang, 15th July. 77. HALCYON PILEATWS. An example, bought alive. 78. ALCEDO BENGALENSIS. Kiukiang, July and September. 82. UPUPA EPOPS. Kiukiang, December. 106. SUYA STRIATA. Lushan, December. 109. ClSTICOLA SCHCENICOLA. Kiukiang, 30th August. 112. ACROCEPHALUS OR1ENTALIS. Wuhn, 20th October. 118. CETTIA CANTURIANS. Kiukiang, llth April. 139. PHYLLOSCOPUS PROREGULUS. Two examples. 262 Mr. H. Seebohm on 145. RUTICILLA AUROREA. Kiukiang, November. 149. XANTHOPYGIA FULIGINOSA. Lushan, 26th March. 150. THAMNOBIA LEUCOCEPHALA. 154. TARSIGER CYANURUS. Kiukiang, March and November. 175. PARUS MINOR. 191. MOTACILLA LEUCOPSIS. Kiukiang, September, October, and February. 196. MOTACILLA OCULARIS. Poyang Lake, January. 202. MOTACILLA SULPHUREA. Lushan, 6th April. 204. HENICURUS SINENSIS. Kiukiang, 4th November. 206. HENICURUS SCOULERI. Kiukiang, 26th September. 206 a. HETERURA SYLVANA. Nankang, 15th December. This species is a very inter- esting addition to the birds of China. It has hitherto been found only on the Himalayas. It is a mountain Pipit, which, under the " furor genericus/' has been allowed to set up a genus of its own. 208 a. ANTHUS LUDOVICIANUS. Poyang Lake, January. This Pipit is, no doubt, a winter visitor to Central China. It is the Nearctic form of our Alpine Pipit, A. spinoletta, from which it only differs in being smaller and darker. It is a common winter visitor to Japan, and was named A.japonicus by Temminck and Schlegel. 214. MERULA NAUMANNI. Several skins, dated November, December, and January. Probably a winter visitor only. Birds from Central China. 263 215. MERULA FUSCATA. Skins dated from 8th November to 8th April. No doubt a winter visitor from the tundras of Eastern Siberia. 218. MERULA PALLIDA. 225. MERULA MANDARINA. 226. GEOCICHLA VARIA. Lushan, 4th April. 232. MONTTCOLA CYANUS-SOLITARIUS. Poyang Lake, 5th December. A female of one of these two forms, or, more probably, of an intermediate form. 233. MYIOPHONEUS C^SRULEUS. Lushan, 8th April. 235. ClNCLUS PALLAST. Kiukiang, August. 242. PYCNONOTUS SINENSIS. Kiukiang, January, July, and November. 244. PYCNONOTUS XANTHORRHOUS. Sin Fung, January. 247. SPIZIXUS SEMITORQUES. Kiukiang, 2nd February. 2540. POMATORHINUS STYANI, nOV. Sp. Lushan, 4th April and 8th November.. The genus Poma- torhinus was monographed by Capt. Wardlaw Ramsay (Ibis, 1878, pp. 129-145) and afterwards by Mr. Bowdler Sharpe (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. vii. pp. 408-432), and P. ruficollis has been specially investigated by Col. Godwin-Austen (Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 1876, p. 75) and by TAbbe David and Mons. Oustalet (Ois. de la Chine, p. 186) ; nevertheless it appears to me that three distinct species are confused together under this name by all the writers I have named. Mr. Sharpe confesses that he accepted the verdict of these distinguished authorities against the validity of Swinhoe's species without trying the case himself; but after comparing 264 Mr. H. Seebohm on Mr. Styan's skius and those in the Swinhoe collection, which include examples collected by VAbbe David in Moupin and Sechuen, with a large series from Nepal and Sikkim, he endorses my subdivision of this 'species into three, all of which have white throats and white margins to the feathers of the breast ; but P. ruficollis has the breast-streaks and the underparts below the breast russet-brown ; P. stridulus has the breast-streaks rich chestnut, contrast- ing with the russet-brown underparts below the breast ; and P. styani has the breast-streaks and the underparts below the breast olive-brown. There is little or no difference in the colour of the upper parts (except that P. styani is slightly more olive (less russet) on the rump and upper tail- coverts) ; but P. ruficollis has much larger feet than the other two species, the hinder toe and claw varying in length from 1*0 to 0'8 inch in this species, from 0*85 to O7 inch in P. stridulus , and from 0*75 to 07 inch in P. styani. P. ruficollis appears to be a resident in Nepal, Sikkim, and Assam. P. stridulus appears to be confined to South China from Sechuen to Tokien. P. styani is at present only known from the valley of the Yang-tse-kiang and the adjoining district of Eastern Thibet, but may possibly also occur in Assam. Mr. Styan describes it as common on the Lushan hills behind Kiukiang, where it frequents the thick cover of the lower slopes. It is a shy skulking bird, creeping through the cover, and only occa- sional glimpses o it can be obtained as it flits from bush to bush. In spring it is seen in pairs, but in autumn flocks of twenty or more are found together. From March to No- vember they sing incessantly, more especially in spring and autumn. Mr. Styan describes the song as very similar to that of the so-called " Chinese Thrush " (Trochalopterum canorum], a nearly allied bird, which is kept in thousands by the Chinese on account of its wonderful singing powers. He further adds, "the song is very sweet and musical, and Birds from Central China. 265 poured forth with a vigour which reminds me of the Sky- Lark ; in the early morning, and again about sunset, it may be heard issuing in all directions from the copses high up on the hill-sides, and is one of the most beautiful notes I know." 257. TROCHALOPTERUM CANORUM. Bought alive. 260. GARRULAX PERSPICILLATUS. October and January. 263. GARRULAX SANNIO. Kiukiang. 272. SUTHORA SUFFUSA. Kiukiang. 290. ORIOLUS CHINENSIS. 295. LANIUS SCHACH. Nankang, January and March. 306. DlCRURUS CATHCECUS. 310. CHIBIA BREVIROSTRIS. Kiukiang, 24th September. 341. GARRULUS SINENSIS. January, April, and November. 344. UROCISSA SINENSIS. 350. PICA CAUDATA. Of two examples, one is a typical European Magpie and the other a P. leucoptera ; both were shot in January. 351. CYANOPOLIUS CYANUS. March, April, July, and November. 353. CORVUS LEVAILLANTI. Kiukiang, July and October. 354. CORVUS TORQUATUS. Kiukiang, September and October. 356. FRUGILEGUS PASTINATOR. SER. v. VOL. ii. x 266 Mr. H. Seebohm on 362. ACRIDOTHERES CRISTATELLUS. January and November. 366. STURNUS CINERACEUS. January, March, and November. 373. FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA. Kiukiang, 21st February. 375. FRINGILLA SINICA. Kiukiang, 23rd November. 385. COCCOTHRAUSTES MELANURUS. Kiukiang, 8th March. 397. EMBERIZA AUREOLA. Kiukiang, 2nd May. 407. EMBERIZA CIOPSIS. January and March. 410. EMBERIZA PUSILLA. Kiukiang, 1st March. 432. PlCUS MANDARINUS. Lushan, 1st April. An intermediate example, the white more developed than in typical South- Chinese birds, but not so much so as in typical North-Chinese birds. 441. GECINUS GUERINI. Five examples, making, with the skins in the Swinhoe col- lection, a series of a dozen, lead me to the conclusion that the Formosan bird cannot be separated. The variations in general colour, and in the amount of black on the head and white on the tail, are so great that it seems probable that a series from a great range of localities would bridge over the entire distance from G. canus of Siberia to G. occipitalis of the Himalayas, between which all these Chinese forms are intermediate. 470. TURTUR ORIENTALIS. March. 471. TURTUR CHINENSIS. December and January. Birds from Central China. 267 479. PHASIANUS TORQUATUS. Kiukiang, 1st March. A fiDe pair of birds of the typical Chinese form. Mr. Dresser has lately obtained some inter- esting examples of Pheasants from the Corea which are inter- mediate between this species and P. formosanus. 508. COTURNIX COMMUNIS. February. 514. OTIS DYBOWSKII. A female agreeing with examples from Japan. Taczanowski assures me that the East-Siberian bird is quite distinct from the European species. 521. GLAREOLA ORIENTALIS. December. 522. VANELLUS CRISTATUS. Poyang Lake, January. 530. CHARADRIUS PLACIDUS. Two examples, without locality or date, belong to this species, which Swinhoe renamed J&gialitis hartingi, and Pere David Charadrius longipes. 4^%xwsx*-wt +*** \^ 534. CHARADRIUS MINOR. Kiukiang, 12th September. 538. TOTANUS GLOTTIS. December and January. 543. TOTANUS OCHROPUS. Kiukiang, 9th November. 550. SCOLOPAX RUSTICULA. February. 553. SCOLOPAX HORSFIELDI. Kiukiang, 2nd May. 554. SCOLOPAX GALLINAGO. Kiukiang, 29th April and 7th October. 559. PHALAROPUS HYPERBOREUS. Kiukiang, 30th August. x2 268 Mr. H. Seebohm on 563. TRINGA ALPINA. Kiukiang and Nankang in winter. 566. TRINGA RUFICOLLIS. Kiukiang, 12th September. 568. TRINGA TEMMINCKI. 22nd October. 570. NUMENIUS M1NUTUS. Kiukiang, 30th September. 578. NUMENIUS LINEATUS. Kiukiang, 2nd October. A handsome bird, distinguished by its long bill, white axillaries, and white rump. 584. ARDEA CINEREA. Kiukiang, 7th October. 587. ARDEA INTERMEDIA. Kiukiang, 23rd July. It differs from the next species, in all ages and at all seasons, in having a yellow instead of a black bill. 588. ARDEA GARZETTA. Kiukiang, 17th November. 593. ARDEA PRASINOSCELES. 594. ARDEA NYCTICORAX. Kiukiang, 10th July. 596. BOTAURUS STELLARIS. Kiukiang, March. 597. ARDETTA FLAVICOLLIS. Kiukiang, 10th July. 599. ARDETTA SINENSIS. Kiukiang, 28th June. 601 . HYDROPHASIANUS CHIRURGUS. Kiukiang, 22nd June. 602. GALLICREX CRISTATA. Kiukiang, May and June. nirdsfroin Central China. 269 604. GALLINULA PHCENICFRA. Kiukiang, 10th July. 606. PORZANA BAILLONI. Kiukiang, 7th May. 610. FULICA ATRA. Kiukiang, 19th November. 611. PODICEPS MINOR. Kiukiang, 7th October. Indistinguishable from British examples. The varieties known as P. philippensis are found in Western Europe, and may be referable to age. 618. MERGUS MERGANSER. Kiukiang, 20th January. 624. ANSER ALBIFRONS. October. 625. ANSER An example from the river Yang-tse-kiang, dated the 22nd of October, somewhat resembles the skin from Hakodadi which I determined as the young of the Lesser White-fronted Goose (Ibis, 1882, p. 369) . I see no reason to change my opinion. They differ from the adult of A. brachyrhynchus in having no dark base to the bill, though the nail is dark, as it is in the adult of that species, and in young only of A. erythropus. 627. ANSER SERRIROSTRIS. An example dated February measures 2*5 inches from the forehead to the tip of the beak. It is an intermediate form between A. segetum and A. grandis, which range in the length of bill, measured as above, from 2'2 to 3'4 inches. It is certainly only subspecifically distinct from the former, and probably also from the latter. 628. ANAS BOSCHAS. Poyang Lake, December. 629. ANAS ZONORHYNCHA. Nan Chang, December. 270 Mr. H. Seebohm on Birds from Central China. 631. TADORNA CAS ARC A. Kiukiang, November. 632. ANAS CLYPEATA. Kiukiang, March. 633. ANAS ACUTA. Kiukiang, February. 634. ANAS PENELOPE. January. 636. ANAS CRECCA. January and October. 639. EUNETTA FORMOSA. 640. EUNETTA FALCATA. 647. FULIGULA CRISTATA. Kiukiang, 8th March. 648 a. NETTAPUS COROMANDELIANUS. Kiukiang, June and July. The N. kopsckii of Swinhoe in winter plumage of this species. David and Oustalet are wrong in saying that the female has no collar, and omit the important fact that she has no white on the primaries. 649. PHALACROCORAX CARBO. 657. LARTJS CACHINNANS. Kiukiang, 17th November. 660. LARUS RIDIBUNDUS. January and November. 662. STERNA CASPIA. Kiukiang, 3rd September. 663. HYDROCHELIDON HYBRIDA. Kiukiang, 4th August. Mr. H. Seebohm on Birds from Lankoran. 425 905. GALLINULA CHLOROPUS. 923. ARDEA CINEREA. 936. BOTAURUS STELLARIS. 957. SPATULA CLYPEATA. 958. ANAS BOSCAS. 961. CHAULELASMUS STREPERUS. 962. MARECA PENELOPE. 964?. UUERQUEDULA CRECCA. 969. FULIGULA NYROCA. The Ducks are only passengers through in the autumn and spring. There is a marsh about a mile from the town, where they frequently take twenty-four hours' rest on their way to the plains. They never stay longer by any chance. On their return journey very few rest here. 975. PODICEPS MINOR. 984. HYDROCHELIDON INDICA. 986. STERNA HIRUNDO. 1005. GRACULUS CARBO. " Jel Kawar." 1007. GRACULUS JAVANICUS. XL1I. Notes on a Collection of Birds from Lankoran. By HENRY SEEBOHM. AN opportunity of examining a collection of 600 skins of birds from the vicinity of Lankoran, on the southern shores of the Caspian, enables me to add several species to the list of Persian birds, and to make some corrections in geographical distribution. AQUILA NJSVIA. Four examples of the Spotted Eagle belong to the larger of the two European forms, and would be regarded as A. clanga by those ornithologists who separate them. BUTEO MENETRIESI. Eight Buzzards vary in length of wing from 16 to 15 426 Mr. H. Seebohm on a inches. The smaller birds (probably males) have no bars on the basal three fourths of the tail, and are very chestnut in colour. The larger birds (probably females) have the tail regularly barred, and are dark brown in colour, more or less suffused with chestnut on the head, wing- and tail-coverts, and the underparts. I think these birds must be regarded as rather large examples of B. desertorum. EEITHACUS GOLZI. Seven specimens of Nightingales belong to the long-tailed species known as the Persian Nightingale. PRATINCOLA MAURA. Three male Stonechats belong to the eastern form of this bird, having unspotted white rumps. ACROCEPHALUS TURDOIDES. A series of fifteen Great Reed-Warblers satisfactorily dis- poses of the doubts which have hitherto been felt as to the correctness of the identification of this species by Menetries. Its breeding-range must therefore be regarded as extending into North Persia and West Turkestan. In Severtzow's col- lection I found examples of this species, as well as of A. stentoreus, the species which Blanford found in South Persia. The Lankoran skins vary in length of wing from 3' 9 to 3*6 inches, and have the second primary equal to the third or fourth. ACROCEPHALUS ARUNDINACEUS (Briss.). ACROCEPHALUS PALUSTRIS, Of a series of sixteen small Reed-Warblers, one only proves to be the Reed- Warbler, all the others being Marsh- Warblers. HYPOLAIS PALLIDA-RAMA. Three examples of Tree-Warblers are, like most of those collected in Persia by Blanford, intermediate between H. pallida and H. rama. HYPOLAIS ICTERINA. An example of the Icterine Tree- Warbler adds a new species to the list of Persian birds. Collection of Birds from Lankoran. 4.27 SYLVIA NISORIA. SYLVIA ATRICAPILLA. Four male Blackcaps and one female are interesting as confirming the identification of Menetries. East Persia appears to be the eastern limit of the range of this species ; but the Barred Warbler is found throughout Russian Turkestan. SYLVIA FUSCIPILEA. Curruca cinerea, \&r.persica, Filippi, Viagg/ Pers. pp. 162, 348 (1865). Sylvia cinerea, /3. fuscipilea, Severtzow, Journ. Orn. 1875, p. 176. An example of the eastern form of the Whitethroat is in- teresting. It seems to me to be fairly entitled to subspecific rank. It is slightly larger than our bird (wing 3 inches) ; the general colour of the upper parts is darker and greyer, especially on the head and neck, and the chestnut on the wing-coverts is much duller. I have three examples, obtained by Tancre's collectors in the Altai Mountains; Prjevalski obtained it in the Eastern Thian-Shan range, Severtzow found it in Turkestan, and various collectors have obtained it in Persia. In the two latter countries our bird also appears. SYLVIA CURRUCA. An example of the Lesser Whitethroat belongs to the western and not to the eastern form. The second primary is intermediate in length between the fifth and sixth. SYLVIA MYSTACEA. Three males and a female of Bowman's Warbler are very interesting, being in full breeding-plumage. JN either Blan- f ord's plate of Sylvia rubescens (' Eastern Persia/ ii. pi. xii.) nor Dresser's plate of Sylvia momus (' Birds of Europe/ ii. pi. Ixiii.) do justice to this beautiful bird, which has the black head of S. melanocephala, and the vinous red breast and throat of S. subalpina. 428 Mr. H. Seebohm on a PHYLLOSCOPUS TROCHILUS. PHYLLOSCOPUS RUFUS. Five examples of the former and three of the latter species are interesting, confirming the correctness of Blanford's iden- tifications, and showing that both the Willow-Wren and the Chiffchaff occur in North Persia. PARUS PENDULINUS. A skin of the Penduline Tit does not differ from European examples. PARUS LUGUBRIS. A skin of the Sombre Tit agrees with examples from Greece and Asia Minor, and does not show the tendency to be greyer above and whiter below which Blanford found in examples from South Persia. EMBERIZA CIA. An example of the Meadow-Bunting is intermediate between the eastern and western forms, and might almost be regarded as E. stracheyi, but being in the abraded plumage of late summer is difficult to determine. MOTACILLA MELANOCEPHALA. MOTACILLA FLAVA. MOTACILLA RAYI. Six males and two females of this Yellow Wagtail are very interesting examples, showing that there is no difference to be found in the plumage of specimens from the eastern colony in the basin of the Caspian, and those from the western colony on the shores of the Atlantic. This is one of the most interesting cases of a discontinuous area of distribution with which I am acquainted. Amongst the examples of M. mela- nocephala is one with a brilliant yellow eye-stripe a very curious variety, if it is not a hybrid between M. rayi and M. melanocephala. A.LCEDO ISPIDA. Two skins of Kingfishers are intermediate between the western and eastern forms of this species (wing 2'8 inches), and might be regarded as large examples of A. bengalensis. Collection of Birds from Lankoran. 429 These intermediate forms have been called A. pallasii. There can be little doubt that the three forms are merely local races of one species. ARDEA COMATA. Nine Squacco Herons add a species to the list of Persian birds enumerated by Blanford, and confirm the statements of Pallas that this species is found on the Caspian. There can be little doubt that this was the species seen by Filippi in countless numbers, and not the Buff-backed Heron, as he supposed. So far as I can ascertain, the latter bird (A. bubal- cm) is only a very rare and accidental straggler beyond Africa, Spain, and Palestine. PORPHYRIO POLIOCEPHALUS. Ten examples of the Indian Purple Gallinule, with green wings and blue-green throat and breast, contrasting with the purple of the rest of the plumage, are very interesting. It seems probable that P. c&ruleus is confined to South Europe and North Africa west of the Adriatic, being replaced in North-east Africa by P. smaragdonotus, with purple wings and a green back, and in Asia by P '. poliocephalus , but being unrepresented in East Europe*. CHARADRIUS ASIATICUS. Two examples confirm the correctness of the locality given by Pallas for the Caspian Plover. TOTANUS FUSCUS. An example of the Spotted Redshank confirms the state- ment of Pallas that this species winters on the southern shores of the Caspian. CYGNUS OLOR. One example of the Mute Swan adds a species to the list of Persian birds. ERISMATURA LEUCOCEPHALA. Thirty-six examples of the White-headed Duck entitles this species to be added to the Persian list. * See remarks on this subject by Mr. Sclater, 'Ibis/ 1879, p. 196. SER. V. VOL. II. 2 I 430 Mr. H. Seebohm on Tetrao griseiventris. XLIII. On Tetrao griseiventris, a recently described Species of Hazel-Grouse from North-east Russia. By HENRY SEEBOHM. (Plate XI.) THE Grouse form a compact little genus, confined to the Palsearctic and Nearctic Regions, and containing about a score of well-defined species, some of which are again divi- sible into climatic races or subspecies. Modern ornitho- logists, suffering from the epidemic which has been called the tf furor genericus " and the ' ' cacoethes dividendi," have established no less than twelve genera for the reception of these twenty or twenty-four species, to the no small incon- venience of ornithologists whose powers of memory are not unlimited. As might be expected, the characters upon which these so-called genera are founded are not very reliable so little, indeed, that the Willow-Grouse belongs to the genus Tetrao in summer, but assumes the characters of the so- called genus Lagopus in winter. The Hazel-Grouse (Tetrao bonasia) has a very wide range, extending from the Pyrenees to Japan, and presents an interesting example of a species which has a Siberian or Arctic form. Tetrao bonasia septentrionalis is a very grey bird, with very little rufous in its plumage, and has a shorter tail than the typical form, towards which it gradually inter- grades, as so many other Arctic forms do, both in the east and in the west. The typical or subarctic form is found in the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Carpathians, and again in the valley of the Amoor and on the main island of Japan. It is not known that any form of Hazel-Grouse inhabits the Caucasus ; but north-east of that range, near the sources of the Petchora and the Kama, a nearly allied, but apparently perfectly distinct, species occurs, Tetrao griseiventris. From twenty to thirty examples of this new European bird have been obtained ; so that all idea of its being an accidental variety must be abandoned. It was first described by the well-known Moscow ornithologist, Mons. M. A. Menzbier, in 1880 (Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Mosc. i. p. 105), and differs from On Bird- skins from the Orinoco, Venezuela. 431 the Common Hazel-Grouse in many very important cha- racters. Whilst in the Common Hazel-Grouse the male differs widely from the female, the former having a black chin and throat, and the latter a buffish-white chin and throat obscurely spotted with black, in Menzbier's Hazel- Grouse both sexes have the chin and upper throat pure white. As will be seen by the Plate, the general colour of Menzbier's Hazel- Grouse is much darker and greyer, espe- cially on the underparts, the pattern of colour in which is different from that of the common bird. The white tips of the wing-coverts and the subterminal black band across the outer tail-feathers, so conspicuous in the Common Hazel- Grouse, are absent in Menzbier's Hazel- Grouse. The discovery of this addition to the birds of Europe is all the more interesting on account of the other European species, which are confined to the extreme east of the con- tinent, such as Ruticilla ochrura, Erithacus hyrcanus, Tetrao mlokosiewiczi, &c., leading to the supposition that this part of Europe must have been isolated for some time, at no very distant period, geologically speaking. XLIV. On a Collection of Bird-skins from the Orinoco, Venezuela. By HANS von BERLEPSCH. (Plate XII.) THE vast plains of the Orinoco, in Venezuela, still remain a ' ( terra incognita " to ornithologists at least no account of the birds of this country has yet been published. It was therefore with considerable interest that I heard of a collection of bird-skins made in the neighbourhood of Angostura (or Ciudad Bolivar) by a young man sent out by the well-known dealer in natural objects, Mr. F. F. G. Um- lauff, of Hamburg. The whole collection has been submitted to my inspection and, although small, proves to be of consider- able interest. There is evidently one new species contained in it, and others were not previously known to be denizens of 432 Hans von Berlcpsch on Bird-skins Venezuela. I have therefore thought it well to give an account of all the species found in the collection. UmlaufFs collector has just returned home, bringing with him a few more skins collected on the Rio Apure, a tributary stream of the Orinoco. The birds collected on the Apure mostly belong to widespread species of Ardeidse, &c. ; they are likewise inserted in the following list. It is much to be regretted that examples of so few species are in the collection, especially of birds of small size, among which probably still many novelties remain undiscovered in the Orinoco plains ; but I am glad to say Mr. Umlauff in- tends to send out another collector, who we may hope will be more successful. 1. CAMPYLORHYNCHUS NUCHALIS, Cab. Angostura. One specimen agreeing with my specimens from Puerto Cabello, but with a somewhat shorter bill, and the back more conspicuously striped. There is only one broad white stripe on each feather of the back, beginning deep from the base, while in Puerto- Cabello specimens there are two, one basal, the other terminal, both pear-shaped and separated in the middle. I believe that this difference is only an indi- vidual one, and that the Angostura bird may not be fully adult. Long. al. 73, caud. 72|, culm. 17, tars. 22 \ millim. 2. ANTHUS RUFUS (Gmel.). Angostura. One specimen, in much faded plumage, seems to agree with Bahia skins, with the exception that there is no yellowish suffusion on the abdomen. The outer tail-feather is nearly wholly white. Long. al. 65, caud. 49, rostr. culm. 11J, tars. 19J millim. This species has not hitherto been recorded from Venezuela. 3. CERTHIOLA LUTEOLA, Licht. & Cab. Angostura. One specimen, agreeing with birds from Puerto Cabello. Long. al. 59, caud, 36, culm. 12^, tars. 16 millim. A ' ^V A ' '. * A fc. i m' ' w PW* ^liiii^^