Al es oe sai ER OO — \"\\ \ AK \ AX OUANRPRC \ A ‘ / _ \\ A C \\ | . ‘ WN WY XX « WY SS \ CORNELL UNIVERSITY | LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE RETURN TO ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY ITHACA, N. Y. DATE DUE ’ GAYLORD PRINTEDINU.S.A 5o45. University Library QL 691.J3S45 of the Japanese Empi wii wii mana ANNA OF aS : OKHOTSK 3 3 Lvimae Sind = ae Sues sae GY ge Bhiashkotan ~ Soe Ste + 3#Koto1. ee -_Lsinusier — 8} Ng U- ; <= Suyep. ee FEturup. Unasir. oe ig ‘ZO ISLE. ST ee PE Ho Fae ~~ . a) OKAHAMA = — —— \ GELS Z> EMiacd Sima. Bi ae Sot v \ Sever, Isles OKU ISLES, = ISLE. a a ~ StPeters Isle. — Sa ho NORTH ss) Bonin % Isles. ae ze: 37 : — a 2 POrinawa-sime.. v gt i yoleanc#Isles . 25} BE Faye ant. Isles. ORMOSA P AC IFIC AG 5} Ms 130 355 160 tos The horizontal lines on the sea denote that it is under 100 fathoms in depth. The dotted lines represent the isothermal lines (the mean temperature) of July; the figures the degrees of Fahrenheit. THE BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE * ; BY HENRY SEEBOHM, AUTHOR OF ‘SIBERIA IN EUROPE, ‘SIBERIA IN ASIA,’ ‘A HISTORY OF BRITISH BIRDS, ‘CATALOGUE OF THE BIRDS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM’ (VOL. V.), ‘THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE FAMILY CHARADRIIDS,’ ‘CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS,’ ETC., ETC. WITH NUMEROUS WOODCUTS. LONDON: R. H. PORTER, 18 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE. 1890. QL : | oe: S45 AIS11 97 PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. PREFACE. ee Durine the last ten years I have been making a collection of Japanese Birds, and have accumulated a carefully selected series of more than two thousand skins, out of the many thousands that have passed through my hands. I am indebted to Captain Blakiston for the most interesting of these specimens, some of which were in the Swinhoe Collection, whilst others were sent to me from time to time during the many years’ residence of Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi. I am also indebted to the late Mr. Harry Pryer for many skins of birds from Southern Japan, and at his death, after many years’ resi- dence in Yokohama, when his collection came into my hands, I began to prepare my notes on Japanese Birds for the press. I have also to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Heywood Jones for a small collection of skins from Fuji-yama, and to Mr. Ringer, of Nagasaki, for some very rare birds from Kiu-siu, I am much indebted to the Curator of the Norwich Museum for arranging their valuable collection of Japanese skins so that it could be examined without difficulty ; and I have to thank Dr. Stejneger of Washington for valuable information respecting the interesting collections made in Southern Japan by Messrs. Jouy and Smith. I also take this opportunity of thanking the Curators of the Museums of Leyden, Bremen, Frankfort, Paris, Vienna, Philadelphia, and Washington for showing me many interesting birds from the Japanese Empire. a2 iv PREFACE. The interest attaching to Geographical Distribution is so great that it is not necessary to apologize for the amount of space devoted to the consideration of the breeding-range of each species, and of the subspecies or local races of those that vary in different parts of their range. The interest to be derived from the study of the Geogra- phical Distribution of genera has been to a large extent destroyed. by the number of unimportant subgenera which have been elevated to generic rank, I have endeavoured to place these pseudogenera in their proper position as much as possible, but much yet remains to be done in this direction. It is, of course, impossible to study the Geographical Distribution of the higher groups until their respective limits have been determined. Of these the subdivisions of the Pas- seres present the greatest difficulty, and with some slight modifica- tions I have adopted those defined by Mr. Oates (Fauna of British India, Birds, i. p. 8), which seem to me to be a distinct advance upon previous arrangements. In the higher groups I have followed the scheme explained in detail in my ‘Classification of Birds,’ and have included the diagnoses of the subclasses, orders, and suborders which are not represented in Japan as well as those which are. The absence of a group is often quite as interesting as the presence of others, especially the absence of those whose range almost, but not quite, reaches the district treated of. Further, by making the list of suborders, orders, and subclasses complete, it has given me an opportunity of correcting some inaccuracies in my former work. I have divided the subject of the Birds of Japan into three sections. The first treats of the Literature relating to Japanese Birds. The second section relates to their Geographical Distribution in the Japanese Empire, and during the breeding-season outside its limits. To this is appended a table of comparison of the number of species in each suborder, and in the case of the Passeres in each subfamily, which have been recorded from the British Islands with those which have been found in the Japanese Empire. I have concluded this section with some remarks on the important fact that there are many PREFACE. v cases in which West-European birds more closely resemble East- Asiatic ones than the Siberian races which intervene. The third section, which embraces the larger part of the volume, is devoted to the Classification and Identification of Japanese Birds. I have not occupied the space devoted to each species with useless synonymy or with long descriptions. Those references only are quoted which contain some valuable information, and those details of the plumage only are given which are necessary to distinguish the species from other Japanese birds, or from nearly allied species or races. I venture to think that the information respecting the Birds of the Japanese Empire, much of it collected together for the first time, will prove to be an interesting and important contribution towards our knowledge of the Geographical Distribution of the Birds of the Palearctic Region. CONTENTS. Literature relating to Japanese Birds. Page Patras, Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica ....... 0 cece cece cece eee eee ee 1 Tremmincx, Nouveau Recueil de Planches Coloriées d’Oiseaux ........ 2 Kirriirz, Ueber die Vogel des Inselgruppe von Boninsima .......... 2 Kirrirrz, Kupfertafeln zur Naturgeschichte der Vogel .............. 2 Temmincx, Manuel d’Ornithologie 1... 0... . cece cece cece eens 2 Temminck and ScHieGEt, Fauna Japonica .......... cee ee ene 3 Cassin, Descriptions of New Species of Birds .......... 0. cece ee eee 3 Cassin, Report on the Birds collected by the Perry Expedition........ 4 Cassin, Report on the Birds collected during the cruise of the ‘ Ports- Mouth” exch seo eae Tares eases ewe see dda ae es 4 Cassin, Report on the Birds collected by the United States North Pacific Surveying and Exploring Expedition ........... 0.0.0. e eeu 5 Buaxiston, On the Ornithology of Northern Japan.........0..000005 5 Braxistoy, Corrections and Additions to the preceding paper ........ 5 Swinuoe, List of the Birds of Japan ........ eee eee eee 6 Swrvxoz, Notes on the Birds collected in Japan during the cruise of the © Portsmouth” ssc sg ede tach eee Bee ge es St She se Ree ear SS 6 Wurrety, Notes on Birds collected near Hakodadi ................ 6 Suarpz, Notes on Birds collected by Mr. R. H. Bergman in Japan .... 7 SwinHoz, On the White Stork of Japan .......... 00. eee eee 7 Swinnor, On the Rosy Ibis of Japan ...... 0.0... eee wee eee 7 Swinnoe, Notes on Birds collected near Hakodadi.................. 7 Swinuor, Further Notes on birds from Hakodadi .................. 7 Swinuor, Further Notes on birds from Hakodadi .... ........ ... 8 Swivnok, Further Notes on Birds from Hakodadi .................. 8 Braxiston and Prrer, Catalogue of the Birds of Japan.............. 9 Serpoum, On a Wagtail from Japan... cee 10 Vill CONTENTS. Page Sresonm, Remarks on Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer’s ‘Catalogue of the Birds of Japan” oi vee eee cee eee renee nee teens 11 Sexson, Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan .......- 1 Buraxiston and Prrwr, Birds of Japan... . 6... ee cee eee ee eee ee 11 Braxiston, Notes on the Birds of Yezzo ........ cece cece ee eee eee 12 Srrponm, On the Pied Wagtails of Japan ...... 66. eee e eee ee ee eee 12 Srrpoum, On a new Species of Owl from Yezzo ......-. eee ee ees 12 Braxisron, On the Birds collected by Messrs. Jouy and Smith in Central JAPAN sg Pacha wi Deena Ae R eR eon See Oa aoa ae 12 Jovy, On the Birds of Central Japan ....... 0... e ee cece ees 13 Braxtston, Notes on the Birds of Yezzo.... 1... cc eee e ee cee 138 Braxiston, Notes on the Birds of the Kurile Islands ................ 13 Srezoam, Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan ........ 13 Braxiston, Amended List of the Birds of Japan ...............0005- 13 Haratrr, On a new Japanese Woodpecker .......... 0 cee eee ee eee 14 Srersonm, Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan ........ 14 Szrsoum, On the Cormorants of Japan 1... . cece ee ee eet 14 Sresoum, Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan.......... 14 Sreynecer, On the Woodpeckers of Japan ........ cece cece eee 14 SreyneGeR, On the Tits and Nuthatches of Japan ...............4.. 14 Sresvecer, On the Rails, Gallinules, and Coots of Japan ............ 15 Stesneger, On the Birds of the Central Group of the Loo-Choo Islands. 15 Buiaxiston, The Water-Birds of Japan... . kee eee ee ee eee 15 Seesoum, On the Bullfinches of Japan...... 0... eee eee ee eee 15 Serpoum, On the Birds of the Central Group of the Loo-Choo Islands .. 15 SresnEcER, On the Thrushes of Japan........ 02. eee ee eee 16 Sresnzeer, On the Bullfinches of Japan ........ 0... cece ee eee eee 16 Sresnecrr, On the Birds of the Loo-Choo Islands .................. 16 SresnterR, On the Ibises, Storks, and Herons of Japan .............. 16 Sresnecrr, On the Carrion-Crow of Japan ........... cee cece ce eee 16 SrezveceR, On the Birds of the Southern Group of the Loo-Choo Islands. 17 SresnucEr, On the Pigeons of Japan oo... eee cece cece eee eee eee 17 Srzsnecer, On the Birds of the Seven Islands ................000. 17 SrrsvegER, On a new Species of Fruit-Pigeon from the Central Group of the Loo-Choo Islands 2... .. Lecce eee cet ee ees 17 SrrsnecER, On the Creepers of Japan ...... 0... cece ee eee eens 17 Jovy, On Cormorant Fishing in Japan... 1... 0... ce cee eee eee 18 Serpoum, On the Birds of the Central Group of the Loo-Choo Islands .. 18 Sresvecer, On the Nutcracker of Japan .......... ec ccc cece ee eee 18 SresnEGER, On the Wrens of Japan.......... Se A HON ae RS Ree 18 Sorzer, On Japanese Birds ........ 0... cee cece cee eee eee 18 Srrpoum, On the Birds of the Bonin Islands .................,..... 18 CONTENTS. ix Geographical Dstribution of Japanese Birds. Page List of Species, showing their Distribution within the Japanese Empire, : and (during the breeding-season) outside its limits.............. 20 Summary of the various ranges (during the breeding-season) of Japanese DB iPS ir Sart dhhod aot ane talc Soe Gy Saat ee Mi adieendech bea na artedeuss Sheer ose eeakeaaees 30 Distribution of Birds peculiar to the Japanese Empire .............. 32 Summary of the Distribution of Birds within the Japanese Empire.... 34 Comparativo table of British and Japanese Birds ..............64-- 37 Climatic Variations of Palearctic Birds ........... 0c ce cee eee eee 38 Classification and Identification of Japanese Birds. Subclass PASSERIFORMES. Order PICO-PASSERES. Suborder I. PASSERES. Family PASSERIDA. Subfamily Turpin.z. 1. Geocichla varia. White’s Ground-Thrush ...............0000. 43 2. sibirica. Siberian Ground-Thrush ..................0005 44 3. terrestris. Kittlitz’s Ground-Thrush .................44- 44 4, Merula curdis. Grey Japanese Ouzel ........-. 0. cece eee ees 45 5 fuscata. Dusky Ouzel.... 00. c eee eee cee eee eee 46 6. —— naumanni. Red-tailed Ouzel ...... 0... ce cece eee eee 47 7, —— pallida. Pale Ouzél! sacs ee AGRA RAAB AeA. Wewes 47 8. —— chrysolaus. Brown Japanese Ouzel .........-.. 0s eee ee 48 9. —— obscura. Dusky Ouzel...... 6.0. cece ee een eeee 49 10. celenops. Seven-Island Ouzel ........ see eee eee eee . 60 ll. Erithacus akahige, Japanese Robin ......-. cee eee cence eee 50 12. namiyei. Stejneger’s Robin ............eeeeee ee ceeee 51 18. komadori. Temminck’s Robin .......... cece ee ee eee ees 52 14. calliope. Siberian Ruby-throated Robin..............000 52 15. cyaneus. Siberian Blue Robwm> ise ryuweweg ues caeeais 53 16. Monticola cyanus solitaria. Eastern Blue Rock-Thrush.......... 53 17. Oinclus pallasi. Siberian Black-bellied Dipper .......... 00.005 54 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24, 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34, 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42, 43. 45. 46. 47. 48, 49, 50. CONTENTS. Accentor alpinus erythropygius. Japanese Alpine Accentor .... rubidus. Japanese Hedge-Sparrow .........-..+- +e ees Pratincola maura, Siberian Stonechat ..............000 005. Ruticilla awrorea. Daurian Redstart ........ 0.000. 00e e eee Tarsiger cyanurus. Siberian Blue-tail ............ 0.0. .0005 Niltava cyanomelena. Japanese Blue Flycatcher ............. Siphia luteola. Mugimaki Flycatcher ...........0 00.00.00 eee Xanthopygia narcissina. Narcissus Flycatcher .............-. Muscicapa sibirica, Siberian Flycatcher............ 0.000000 ——- latirostris. Brown Flycatcher .......... 26.0.0 e ee eee Terpsiphone princeps. Japanese Paradise Flycatcher .......... Subfamily CrarERopopin &, Hypsipetes amaurotis. Brown-eared Bulbul ........ ........ squamiceps. Bonin-Island Bulbul ..................... pryert. Loo-Choo Bulbul ..................0.08. Hapalopteron familiare. Bonin White-eyed Warbler........... Zosterops palpebrosa nicobarica. Loo-Choo White-eye ......... japonica, Japanese White-eye .......... 0.0.02. eee eee Subfamily Syzvimnm, Phylloscopus coronatus. Temminck’s Crowned Willow-Warbler ochotensis. Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler Subfamily Parinz. Regulus cristatus orientalis. Eastern Golderest .......... .... Parus palustris japonicus. Japanese Marsh-Tit............... borealis, Arctic Willow-Warbler ...............000005 xanthodryas. Swinhoe’s Willow-Warbler .....:......... ——~ tenellipes. Pale-legged Willow-Warbler ............... Acrocephalus orientalis. Chinese Great Reed-Warbler ......... —— bistrigiceps. Schrenck’s Reed-Warbler.......... ...... Locustella fasciolata. Gray’s Grasshopper-Warbler ........... lanceolata. Temminck’s Grasshopper-Warbler ........... Cettia squamiceps. Swinhoe’s Bush-Warbler................. cantans, Large Japanese Bush-Warblor ............... cantillans. Small Japanese Bush-Warbler ............. —— diphone. Bonin Bush-Warbler ............ 00.0.0 0 eee Cisticola cisticola brunneiceps. Fan-tailed Warbler ........... Lusciniola pryeri. Pryer’s Grass-Warbler .................., Page 56 56 57 57 58 59 60 61 62 62 63 64 65 66 66 67 68 51, 52. 53. 54, 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. CONTENTS, xi Page Purus ater pekinensis. astern Cole Tit............. re are 82 atriceps minor. Manchurian Great Tit...... 0.0.0.0. .00. 83 varius. Japanese Tit ..... 66... eee e cece eee eee ee 85 castaneiventris. Formosan Tit .... 0... cc ce eee eens 86 Acredula caudata. Continental Long-tailed Tit................ 87 trivirgata, Japanese Long-tailed Tit.............. 000005 87 Aigithalus consobrinus. Swinhoe’s Penduline Tit .............. 88 Troglodytes fumigatus. Japanese Wren ...... 0... cece eee eens 89 kurilensis. Kurile-Island Wren .............0005- 90 Certhia familiaris, Common Creeper... 2.0... ccc e ee eee e ees 91 Sitta cesta amurensis. Daurian Nuthatch ............ 0.000 ee 92 uralensis. Siberian Nuthatch ............0.- ec eee 93 —- albifrons. Kamtschatkan Nuthatch ................ 93 Subfamily Corvinaz. Corvus coram, Raven <.eciacccsaica sais wiieaweead ensues 94 macrorhynchus japonensis. Japanese Oriental Raven ...... 94 — levaillanti, Small Oriental Raven ..... .....eee ee 95 corone. Carrion-Crow........ rr cree center nes 96 —— dauricus, Pallas’s Jackdaw .............00005. ei dawes 97 —— neglectus. Swinhoe’s Jackdaw .......eeeeeee eee eeeeee 97 pastinator, Eastern Rook .........0.cseee cee ree eennes 98 Nucifraga caryocatactes. Nutcracker ......... 00 cece eee eee 99 Cyanopolius cyanus. Eastern Blue Magpie .............00005 99 Garrulus brandti. Brandt's Jay .... 0... cece cece eee ce ene 100 ——— japonicus, Japanese Jay .iseee cece eee e eee e cece eeeens 101 : sinensis. Chinese Jay...... ccc cece cece etree eens 101 Pica caudate. Magpies... cccccsescseers sess et teneeseuenes 102 : caudata kamtschatkensis. Kamtschatkan Magpie.......... 103 Subfamily Lani z, Lanius major. Pallas’s Grey Shrike 1... 0... ce cece seen eens 103 magnirostris. Thick-billed Shrike............cseeeeeees 104 superciliosus. Japanese Red-tailed Shrike..........-..... 104 —— lucionensis, Chinese Red-tailed Shrike .......... .. wee 105 bucephalus. Bull-headed Shrike ......--..-see eevee .. 106 Pericrocotus cinereus. Siberian Minivet ...............eececeee 106 tegimee, Loo-Choo Minivet............ cee cece e eee ene 107 y Xl 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94, 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105.° 106. 107. 108. 109. CONTENTS. Subfamily Srurninz. Page Sturnus cineraceus. Grey Starling .......+ sees eee ener ees 107 Sturnia pyrrhogenys. Red-cheeked Starling .........+++++++ 108 Ampelis garrulus. Bohemian Waxwing .........--- henge 110 japonicus, Japanese Waxwing ......-.+eee reece reece 110 Subfamily Moracrtriiv 2, Motaciila lugens. Kamtschatkan Wagtail ......-..-0-20 ees 111 japonica. Japanese Wagtail.........6.0 ee eee eee eres 112 —— boarula melanope. Eastern Grey Wagtail ..........+++- 114 flava. Blue-headed Wagtail .........- eee ee eee eee 114 Anthus maculatus. Eastern Tree-Pipit .........-0 sees ee eee 115 spinoletta japonicus. Japanese Alpine Pipit .........--- 116 cervinus. Red-throated Pipit .......... 0. eee eee eee 117 Subfamily Atavpin 2. Alauda arvensis pekinensis. Large Japanese Sky-Lark ........ 118 arvensis japonica. Small Japanese Sky-Lark ............ 118 —— alpestris, Shore-Lark ... 11... . cece ce ee eee 119 Subfamily Frrveitiinx. Coccothraustes vulgaris. Common Hawfinch..........--...-.. 120 personatus, Japanese Hawfinch ............0... 00 eee 121 Loxia curvirostra. Common Crossbill .........0. 0. cee eee es 121 Chaunoproctus ferreirostris. Bonin Grosbeak .............065 122 Pinicola enucleator. Pine-Grosbeak ........ 0.00... eee eens 122 Carpodacus roseus. Rose-Finch ........ 00. e cece cence 123 erythrinus. Scarlet Rose-Finch .............0000eeeee 123 sanguinolentus. Japanese Rose-Finch.................. 124 Fringilla spinus. Siskin .... 0... cece cece eee ees 125 —— linaria. Mealy Redpole ............ 0... cece eee eee 125 montifringilla, Brambling .......... 00sec eee e eee e ee 126 sinica. Chinese Greenfinch ...... 0.0.00... cece ee nee 127 kawarahiba. Japanese Greenfinch ..................-. 127 kittlitzi. Bonin-Island Greenfinch ...... Sido an tarsoauereos 128 Montifringilla brunneinucha. Japanese Snow-Finch ..... eehsie AZS Pyrrhula grisewentris. Oriental Bulfinch ........ Seargulass 129 griseiventris kurilensis. Kurile-Island Bulfinch .......... 129 Passer montanus. Tree-Sparrow .... 0... eee eee eee eee 130 rutilans. Russet Sparrow ...... ccc eee ee eee 13] 110. 111. 112. 118. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128, 129. 130. 181. 132, 133. 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. CONTENTS. xill Page Emberiza ciopsis. Bonaparte’s Japanese Bunting.............. 131 yessoensis. Swinhoe’s Japanese Bunting .............. . 1382 scheeniclus palustris. Eastern Reed-Bunting ............ 133 —— rustica. Rustic Bunting 1.0.00... eee cece eee eee 134 —— fucata. Grey-headed Bunting ...... 0.0... cece eens 134 sulphurata, Siebold’s Bunting.......... 0.0.0. c eee ees 135 personata. Temminck’s Japanese Bunting .........-.... 136 spodocephala. Black-faced Bunting..............-+..+- 137 elegans. Temminck’s Yellow-browed Bunting .......... 137 —— rutila, Ruddy Bunting ........ 0... eee ee eee eee 138 aureola, Yellow-breasted Bunting ...,........00ceeee 138 variabilis, Grey Bunting 2.1... . 6. cece eee ee ce eee 139 nivalis. Snow-Bunting.......... 0. cece cee eee ee teens 140 — lapponica, Lapland Bunting ............... 0. eee eee 140 Subfamily Hirunpryin.z. Hirundo rustica gutturalis, Fastern Chimney-Swallow ........ 141 ‘javanica namiyei. Loo-Chou Bungalow-Swallow ........ 142 alpestris nipalensis. Nepalese Mosque-Swallow.......... 142 Chelidon dasypus. Black-chinned Martin .............-.005 144 Cotyle riparia. Sand-Martin 2.1.0.0... . ccc eee eee eee 144 Suborder II. LORYLAMI. Suborder III. TROCHILI. Suborder LV. SCANSORES. Gecinus awokera. Japanese Green Woodpecker .............. 147 canus. Grey-headed Green Woodpecker ................ 148 Picus martius. Great Black Woodpecker.............0 000005 149 richardst. Tristram’s Woodpecker ................00.. 149 noguchit. Pryer’s Woodpecker.. .......... 0000 ceeeuees 151 leuconotus. White-backed Woodpecker ..............4+ 152 —— —— subcirris. Japanese White-backed Woodpecker 152 namiyet. Stejneger’s Woodpecker ...........0.. 000005 153 —— major japonicus, Japanese Great Spotted Woodpecker .... 153 minor. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.............00e eee 155 Lyngipicus kisuki. Temminck’s Pigmy Woodpecker .......... 156 seebohmi. Hargitt’s Pigmy Woodpecker............ 156 nigrescens. Loo-Choo Pigmy Woodpecker.......... 156 Tynx torquilla, Wryneck .. 0... cece cece ete 157 xv1 174, 175. 176. 157. 178. 179. 180. 181. 182. 183. 184. 185. 186. 187. 188. 189. 190. 191. 192. 193. 194. 195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. CONTENTS, Falco subbuteo. Hobby 2.0... . 0.0 c eee ce nee @salons Merlin g:ciasxeiae sie ad cas sersaaw es eee tinnunculus japonicus. Japanese Kestrel.............-.. Pandion haliaetus. Osprey... ccc cece cece cee eens Butaster indicus, Javan Buzzard ........ 0000 cee ene Pernis apivorus. Honey-Buzzard ........ 0.060000 eee ee Milvus ater melanotis. Siberian Black Kite Haliaetus albicilla. White-tailed Eagle pelagicus. Steller’s Sea-Eagle Aquila chrysaetus. Golden Hagle...........-.0 se ee cece lagopus. Rough-legged Buzzard-Eagle Spizaetus nipalensis. Indian Crested Eagle Buteo hemilasius. Siberian Buzzard ........... 0... e eee eee vulgaris plumipes. astern Buzzard ...... Circus cyaneus. Hen-Harrier ......... 0.0.0 eee eee eee cruginosus. Marsh-Harrier.................. 00 ee eae sptlonotus.. Eastern Marsh-Harrier Accipiter palumbarius. Goshawk ............ csc eee eens nisus. Common Sparrow-Hawk —— gularis, Chinese Sparrow-Hawk ee Suborder XVII. SERPENTARII,. Subclas ANSERIFORMES. Order PELECANO-HERODIONES. Suborder XVIII. STEGANOPODES. Phalacrocoraz carbo. Common Cormorant capillatus. Temminck’s Cormorant pelagicus. Resplendent Shag bicristatus. Bare-faced Shag Sula leucogastra. Booby Gannet .........0 0. cee ce ees piscatria. Red-footed Booby .......... cece eee ee Phaeton rubricauda. Red-tailed Tropic-bird Fregata minor. Lesser Frigate-bird i a See ee we ee wee Page 193 193 194 195 201. 202. 208. 204. 205. 206. 207. 208. 209. 210. 211. 212. 213. 214, 215. 216. ary. 218. 219. 220. 221, 222. 223. 224, 225. 226. 227. 228, 229. CONTENTS. xvii Suborder XIX. HERODIONES. Page Ardea cinerea. Common Heron ............ cece eee enna 215 alba. Great White Egret ...... 0. ee eee eee 216 alba modesta. Eastern Great White Egret .............. 216 —— intermedia. Plumed Egret .......... 0... cece eee eee 217 garzetta. Little Egret .... 0.0... ccc cece eee ees 218 coromanda. Eastern Buff-backed Heron................ 219 - jugularis. Eastern Reef-Heron .............. Sais Gee are 0 220 Nycticorax nycticoraw, Night-Heron ............-.0e se eee 222 crassirostris. Bonin Night-Heron ...........0eeeeeeee 222 goisagi. Japanese Night-Heron .............-eee eee 223 javanicus stagnatilis, Australian Mangrove-Heron........ 224 prasinosceles, Chinese Squacco-Heron............ee000e 225 Botaurus stellaris, Bittern ........ ccc eee eee eee ees 226 sinensis. Oriental Little Bittern ...............200000 227 eurhythma. Schrenck’s Little Bittern ..............5555 227 Ciconia boyciana, Japanese Stork,....... 0... ee eee ees 228 Suborder XX. PLATALEH. Platalea leucorodia. Common Spoonbill ................0005 229 minor. Swinhoe’s Black-faced Spoonbill ................ 231 Ibis nippon. Japanese Crested Ibis ........... 6... e eee 232 melanocephala. White Ibis ......... cece cece eee eae 232 Order LAMELLIROSTRES. Suborder XXI. PH@NICOPTERI. Suborder XXII. ANSERES. Cygnus musicus. Hooper Swan...... Ae aw CA Oe MEY S 234 bewicki. Bewick’s Swan ........- FEHR Ue Las itelee aae aod 235 Anser cygnoides, Chinese Goose ........ 0. eee ee eee eee eee 235 segetum serrirostris. Hastern Bean-Goose .............. 236 —— albifrons. White-fronted Goose ....... 6... esse ee ae ee 237 —— minutus. Lesser White-fronted Goose..........65. wees 238 —— hyperboreus. Snow-Goose .... ssc eee e cece eee eee 238 — nivalis. Greater Snow-Goose .......... 0.0 eee eee 238 hutchinst. Hutchins’ Bernacle Goose ...............0- 239 nigricans. Pacific Brent Goose ............ eae eGo 240 Dendrocygna javanica. Indian Whistling Teal .............. 240 XViii CONTENTS. Page 230. Tadorna cornuta. Common Sheldrake ........0.000ee errors 241 231. rutila. Ruddy Sheldrake .......... ce .eeeeeeees sre nhte ahs 241 232. Anas strepera. Gadwall ...... 0. cece ccc eee ee eee eee 242 233. clypeata. Shoveller ...... cece cece eee eee eens 242 234, boschas. Mallard .......0 1. ce cece eee eee ee eens 248 235. zonorhyncha. Dusky Mallard ......... (HANIA Rees 243 236. orecea. Common Teal .......... cece cece eee eens 244 237. formosa, Spectacled Teal... ....... cece eee eee eee 244 238. falcata, Falcated Teal... .... cece cece eee ees 245 239. circia, Garganey ...... cece cect eee ete 246 240. acuta, Pintail ...... 6... cee ee eee Wad ieuastCnnt eats waeeacs 246 241, penelope. Wigeon........ cece cece cece cence eee n neces 247 242, galericulata. Mandarin Duck ............ 0... e ee eee 248 243. Fuligula americana. American Black Scoter ................ 248 244. fusca stejnegert. Asiatic Velvet Scoter ...........0.00- 251 245, glacialis. Long-tailed Duck........ 0.0... ce cece ee eee 252 246. clangula, Golden-eye .. 1.6.6... cece eee cece ees 253 247. —— histrionica. Harlequin Duck .............0 cece ee cees 253 248. baeri. Siberian White-eyed Duck ...........-.0.0000- 254 249, ——ferina. Pochard) oi c035c0xe ceaasvce oexe ve sea nee as 254 250. cristata. Tufted Duck ....... 00... ccc cece eee eee 255 251. maria. SCAup s..gcked pideee VON Caw se Veo waw ew ALS 256 252. Somateria spectabilis. King Hider............. cece eee eee 256 253. stelleri. Steller’s Hider..............4. gna Sahara Lasaee 257 254. Mergus merganser. Goosander ...........cce esse cece ee enes 257 255. serrator, Red-breasted Merganser ... ..........00c00e 258 256. albellus. Smew...... AAS ASD AA oN oid. We care, Ara as 258 Suborder XXIII. PALAMEDEXL. Subclass GALLIFORMES. Order TUBINARES. Suborder XXIV. TUBIN ARES. 257. Diomedea albatrus. Steller’s Albatross... .. . 2 Ee GRUGED USS SSO eA LEIA AUD OR By i a sn yie Vagal ee A a 61 258. nigripes. Audubon’s Albatross...................... 263 259. Puffinus leucomelas, Siebold’s Shearwater .........,......_ 264 260. carneipes. Pink-footed Shearwater.................... 265 261. griseus. Sooty Shearwater icles staecitaaesa 266 262, tenucrostris, Slender-billed Shearwater 263. 264, 265. 266. 267. 268. 269. 270. 271, 272, 273. 274, 275. 276. 277. 278. 279. 280. 281. * 989, 288. 284. 285. 286. 287, 288. 289. 290. 291. 292, 293. 294, CONTENTS. Pulmarus glacialis. Fulmar ........ 0.0 c ec ee eens Gistrelata hypoleuca, Bonin-Island Shearwater ............. Procellaria leachi. Leach’s Fork-tailed Petrel.............. melania. Black Petrel ...... 0... cece eee teen eee — furcata. Grey Fork-tailed Petrel ...............05 Order IMPENNES. Suborder XXV. IMPENNES. Order GALLO-GRALLA. Suborder XXVI. GAVIA. Alca troile arra, Pallas’s Guillemot...........0.00c000ees carbo. Sooty Guillemot......... cc. c eee ee eee eee columba. Pigeon-Guillemot ........ 0.0 cee eee eee antiqua. Bering’s Guillemot ...........seeeeeeeees wumizusume. Temminck’s Guillemot ..............-. marmorata. Marbled Guillemot ..............0.000. brevirostris, Kaittlitz’s Guillemot ........ 0... cee eee Fratercula corniculata. Horn-eyed Puffin...............04, cirrhata. Tufted Puffin......... eee eee ee eee —— monocerata. Horn-billed Puffin ............... eee ee psittacula. Parrot-billed Puffin ............seeeeeue —— cristatella, Crested Puffin .......... cece eee ee eee —— pygmea. Whiskered Puffin ............ cece ee eeeees pusilla, Least Pufin 1.0... ccc cece cece ee eens Stercorarius richardsoni. Richardson’s Skua .............. buffont. Buffon’s Skua ...... 6... cece eee cee ene pomarinus. Pomarine Skua .......... eee cece neces Larus glaueus. Glaucous Gull oo... cece eee eee glaucescens. Glaucous-winged Gull ............66. ee marinus schistisugus. Eastern Great Black-backed Gull.... cachinnans. Pallas’s Herring-Gull .............0008- leucopterus. Iceland Gull........ cece cece eee eee ees crassirostris, Temminck’s Gull............. 0c eee eeee canus, Common Gull .... cc cee cee eee eee renee tridactylus. Kittiwake .. 0... 00sec eee cee eee ene as ridibundus. Black-headed Gull .............000 000 Sterna dougalli. Roseate Tern ..........-- 02. cece eee eee xix Page 268 269 270 270 271 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 289 290 290 291 291 292 293 293 294 295 295 xX 295. 296, 297. 298. 299. 300. 301. 302. 303. 304, 305. 306. 307. 308. 309. 310. 311. 312. 318. 314. 315. 316. 317. 318. 319. 320. 321. 322. 323. 324. 325. 326. 327. 328. 329. 330. 331. 332, CONTENTS, Sterna longipennis, Daurian Tern .....-. see eee ee eee eens melanauchen. Black-naped Tern .......ee.cee eee eeeees sinensis. Oriental Lesser Tern. ........00cceeeceeeee ee aleutica. Aleutian Tern .... 0.0... cece eee nee eens bergit, Riippell’s Tern .......... cece ee eee eee eens stolida, Noddy Tern.......... ccc cece eee cece neees anestheta, Bridled Tern ........ 00.0 ce cece eee eens fuliginosa, Sooty Tern........ cece cece ence e eee Suborder XXVIII. ZIMICOLA. Charadrius fuluus. Asiatic Golden Plover ............-++40- helveticus. Grey Plover 1... .. cece cee cece e eee ee eee morinellus. Common Dotterel ......... 0c ce eee e eens —— minor. Little Ringed Plover .......0 cece cece eee eees —— placidus. Hodgson’s Ringed Plover............-+--s00 —— mongolicus. Mongolian Sand-Plover ...........++-500- cantianus. Kentish Plover ........ 0.0. ee eee eee eenes geoffroyi. Geoffroy’s Sand-Plover .........e esses eeees Lobivanellus cinereus. Grey-headed Wattled Lapwing.......... Vanellus cristatus. Common Lapwing .............0.see ee ee -Hematopus osculans. Japanese Oystercatcher ............0005 niger. North-American Black Oystercatcher Numenius arquatus lineatus. Eastern Curlew cyanopus. Australian Curlew .............. 00 e eens —— pheopus variegatus. Eastern Whimbrel minutus. Least Whimbrel ............ 0.0 eee eee e eee Phalaropus fulicarius. Grey Phalarope .............. 0-000 hyperboreus. Red-necked Phalarope Totanus fuscus. Dusky Redshank................ ce eee ees calidris. Common Redshank glottis. Greenshank ........ 0.0... eee eee eens stagnatilis. Marsh-Sandpiper ................ 0000 c eae incanus. Asiatic Wandering Tattler .................. brevipes. American Wandering Tattler — glareola. Wood-Sandpiper ochropus. Green Sandpiper terekius. Terek Sandpiper ............ ccc. ccceceecce —— hypolewus. Common Sandpiper = pugnan. Ruff, coc aeca cae ea eee ween ec uenaaeneus Limosa rufa uropygialis. Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit.......... melanura melanuroides. Eastern Black-tailed Godwit ... Tee wwe ee te ewe we ee ew ee Page 296 297 298 299 299 300 301. 3802 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 313 314 315 316 317 318 318 319 320 321 322 323 323 324 325 326 326 328 » 329 333. 334. 335. 336. 337. 338. 339. 340. 341. 342, 343. 344, 345. 346. 347. 348, 349. 350. 351. 352. 353. 354. 355. 356. 357. 358. 359. 360. 361. 362. 363. 364, 365. 366. 367. CONTENTS, Xxi Page Macrorhamphus griseus scolopaceus. Alaskan Snipe-billed Sandpiper 330 Strepsilas interpres. Turnstone............ cc cece ee eee eee 331 Tringa crassirostris. Japanese Knot........ pa Wate we la eee 332 —— canutus, Knob os saneay ca vwccaci sew aeew sas aaee see ew 333 — alpina pacifica, Pacific Dunlin .............0. 0 eae .. 334 maritima, Purple Sandpiper........ 0.6... .eceeer eee 335 arenaria. Sanderling ........... cece eee e eee eee ees 336 platyrhyncha. Broad-billed Sandpiper................5- 337 minuta ruficollis. Red-throated Stint..............005 337 —— subminuta, Middendorff’s Stint .......... 0... cece eae 338 —— pygmea. Spoon-billed Sandpiper................ e000 338 acuminata. Siberian Pectoral Sandpiper................ 339 Rhyncheea capensis. Painted Snipe ......... 0. eee cece e eens 340 Scolopax australis. Latham’s Snipe ...... 0.60... sce e eee eee 342 solitaria japonica. Japanese Solitary Snipe.. ........... 342 megala, Swinhoe’sSnipe ...... 0... ee eee eee ene 343 gallinula. Jack Smipe ...... cece eee eee nee 344 stenura. Pintail Snipe .... 1... ee eee eee 345 gallinago, Common Snipe ...... 0. cece cece eee eee 846 ~— rusticola. Woodcock......... 000s cece eee eee eens 1... B47 Suborder XXVIII. GRALLZ, Grus cinerea. Common Crane ........ 6. cece eee 348 leucogeranus. Siberian White Crane .................. 349 japonensis, Sacred Crane ....... cece eee eee ees 351 leucawchen. White-naped Crane ............. 0. eee eeee 352 - monachus. White-headed Crane ..............eeee eens 353 Turnix blakistoni. Blakiston’s Hemipode..................-. 354 Suborder XXIX. FULICARIZ. Otis dybowskii. Eastern Great Bustard...........-.. 0 eevee 355 Orex pusilla. Pallas’s Crake ........ 6. e cece cece eee 356 fusca erythrothorax. Siberian Ruddy Crake ............ 357 —— undulata. Swinhoe’s Crake ..... 0... cece eee eee 358 sepiaria. Loo-Choo Crake ........ eee e eee eee eee 358 Rallus aquaticus indicus. Eastern Water-Rail.............-.. 359 Gallicren cinereus. Water-Cock...... 0... c cece ene n ees 360 Fulica atra. Common Coot oo... cece eee cece eee eens 360 Gallinula chloropus. Water-Hen .......... 00sec eee eens 360 XXxil 368. 369. 370. 371. 372. 373. 374. 375. 376. 377. 378. 379. 380. 381. CONTENTS. Suborder XXX. PYGOPODES. Colymbus adamsi. White-billed Diver ...........+seeeeeeees arcticus. Black-throated Diver ........:seeeeeeeeeeee septentrionalis, Red-throated Diver........ ..++++s+++ Podiceps rubricollis major. astern Red-necked Grebe .......- nigricollis, Black-necked Grebe .........++eeeeeeeeees —— cornutus. Sclavonian Grebe ........-. eee ee eee eens —— minor. Little Grebe... 6... eee eens Suborder XXXI. GALLINA. Phasianus torquatus. Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant .......... versicolor. Japanese Green Pheasant ...............005 —— semmeringi. Copper Pheasant............... eee e eee ee seintillans. Hondo Copper Pheasant Tetrao mutus. Common Ptarmigan bonasia. Hazel-Grouse 2) Suborder XXXII. CRYPTURI. Subclas STRUTHIONIFORMES. Order APTERYGES. Suborder XXXIII. APTERYGES. Order RATIT AL, Suborder XXXIV. RHEL, Suborder XXXV. CASUARIZ. Suborder XXXVI. STRUTHIONES. LIST OF WOODCUTS. Page Map of the Japanese Empire ............0.-. cece ee eeee Frantientecs Deep plantar tendons of Patagona gigas...... cece eee ete eee 145 — of Prous martius oii ccc cee r ccc e ence neces 146 Pius TIhArd8t. ois ca veas eck oe ieee ee EMEA R ETA SEAR LEE REE 150 NOGUCRU: 655s se shine Ake VME BERS AAR KEARSE STOO aS 151 Pterylosis of Upupa epops ..... cece cece eee tence eee eee eens 158 Deep plantar tendons of Trogon ..... 6... cece cece ene eee eens 159 of Catharista atratus 6.1 cee eee eee 172 Sternum of Upupa epops, of Buceros albirostris, and of Merops apiaster . 176 Deep plantar tendons of Cathartes aura. i... lec cee eee eee 180 Foot of Bubo mawimus.. i... cc cee cece ene e ene eee es 183 Deep plantar tendons of Pandion haliaetus .. 0... cece eee eee ee 195 Foot of Serpentarius secretarius 0.0... ccc ce cece ee eee eee 206 Head of Phalacrocoraz carbo... 1... cece ce cee eet e eens 208° BO PU Otis ies cceisits G Wale A Guaea 8 Sogneva teen iad ais 209 — POLO GUCUR 5 oi 8g Bec ase ese ane ese Ga aes RS Matec Fe 210 ———— bieristatus .............. cetitdace a ube emis 211 Pterylosis of neck of Ardea cinerea... 1... cece eee eee eee 214 Side of head and throat of Platalea leucorodia ...... 66. cece eee eee 230 WANOP 3% revi iari gaye ne dees ewes 231 Skull of Anas: 00schas o5.os oaks 6 oii wis denn we eae ws Daw ad wea lee eis 234 Head of Fuligula americana oo. cic ccc cee eee tenes 249 — SS NIGTE. nowaia wegen eR ATER eS Dawe ears 249 —— FUSCA SLEJNEGETEL ee cece eect eee eee nee 250 —. WEWUCING. os 0 als As ait a eae Domine shee eee wee BM 251 aS PUSCU So Sreey auiceseananaiai ee sAigtaussape baaniph cesta. Pan Gest 251 ——— Diomedea albatrus 0.0... eee e nents 261 —— TUGT UES ii ae aay RANE WS Bae RES Badd DieSe aon ey asa 263 ——— Puffinus lewcomelas.. 6.0.6. ccc cece e eens 264 —— CUTNALDES® we-i'aia We aids ae weg Haak RD Ae dw cee 265 —— QTISCUS. Wises Wi aie eres deren dew Rew Mee 266 — (CNUAPOSETIS: Coa ies casasne ee ae Aa a REAR REE EO 8 267 ——— Fulmarus glacialis .. 0... ccc ccc cnc e eee eeneee 268 ——— Procellavia leachi oo. ccc cece cence wenn eee tees 270 — PUNE: oe ese oiaa Heh GER wAR EWE EVR Ae Bees 271 ——— Fratercula corniculata voce eee c ccc eee eee eens 281 —— CUT in fap aoe esas wicwte Re is Hore Bee Tk aoa ANS 282 $$ MONOCEV ec ecenee ence ene ene 283 ee A211 ae 284 _— CRUSOE OULD aia cassis cares as ate Wiebe rR Sine gE 285 —_—— PYQTABE 6 6. ov oneness tka dee eae a ae baa ee eae 287 ne PURGE <5 she stare Mra Meat ares Aue ule ee alco 288 XXIV LIST OF WOODCUTS. Page Head of Sterna dougalli .. 0.0.6 cece ee cnet nnn es 296 —_—— Longqipennis vo ceccvccvceeneecnenne ence et enneneanes 296 ——— —— melanauchen 0... cic cccccccccncncncn ne en ee enenes 297 pe Fc HUNEN RUS, ese atdcpieg awa toa os wien wes ECHL Sere sie eed neat datos 298 ——<—— ——— Berta cece ccc nee teen enn ees 299 ——— ———_ Stolida oeccc ccc cen ete e ee een ee enna 300 —— = SHE cece eee eens 301 — FUUGINOSA Lente tenes 302 __ Charadrius helveticus .... 00.0 cc ce nee ete en eens 304 Charadrius morinellus occ. ee eee te eens 305 __ Head of Charadrius minor... . ccc cect eee cee tenet 306 PUACMUB oie oo nen HR RARER RTE NRE See vies 307 | MONGOUCUS 66 ccc cece ener cc ee ee enne en ennees 308 Charadrius cantianus . 0... c eee cece cent ee ee eee eee e eee 309 __ Head of Charadrius geoffroyt 0... cece cece ene eee eee e nee 310 Vanellus cristatus.c. occas ee sane eee sie ee te peeve da eileen ee 312° _ Bill of Heematopus niger... 6. cc cece eee nee eens 314 Numenius arquatus .. 0c. e eee eens 315— PRO PUS ps0 sy eu atria plese Placdiak we awe wladehe Geka ele ae eee 316 Phalaropus fulicavius 0... cc cece cee eee e eens Pera Make otcaues 318_— ——— hyperboreus oo e ec ccccccccccccceene nent eenee 319 TObANUS: [UBCUS si is otra. anges Sis wis jorge Am dime 4d Opal a ded al wie) Sided nua! gine te 320 _ COUGIAS > agate paves Gazer eink aw HI ona! BSL ANAT aloo eeavaR Same ORS aee Get RET 321 GOH oF oi neca pap aed OG ire wily ig oataray aeons. ado Bac tCe eee 322 — GUO EOLA, “o-atas sn axast sis sngs sos susttibs gta a ath sensed AE o Me Ra ACTRESS 324 ONT OPUS inte wena Sotccch hath LHR ION GR ERE Res TRIES 325___ hypoleucus ....... J UMMA SIME Ns OEM ea ena eee cae Eo 327 LAMOSO TUfZO, :o0G5 0 PERE ie BE ROI A WOT NE RIS aS BERLE EN 3828 _ —MELANUTE op ecaise ees iw s34 Ce Nos i wae EE SAREE ES 330 Macrorhamphus scolopaceus and griseus ...... 6. cc cece ener eens 331 _ Strepsilas Mer pres a. vs 06 ieee ees eee ew ew Oe wae ee we tes 332 LT RYO CONULUS a6 sia drew sian ais Wari aues ee VakniCe emo Mae dng eee daews 333 _ WIND ss ceo ean heart oe eared nee g de han vaees 334 TCT AON areata asi Sep 5 es DRE pF ARCE IRA ENE HO OM ERODE 335 OR OMDN ADE tiny ik an Seta do anh teanaeh vg tare en gst eons ahd Wiganky BegeaN ara 336 PY GMB shi iNictoie Wuatasesioer var Ralbh kal bats adatioalg ss baka guca dade a 8 339 Rectrices of Tringa acumindta .. ccc eect cette eee 340 WS COLOP OA AULIAUL: sates, oss: Sines nce BBE Se 6a ad's GIB wighd seco ab sprite windshe alae 344 Rectrices of Scolopaw stenura .. 0.6... cee cece cee cent eens 345 Scolopaa gallinago oc. ee ccc cece cee cent ee enn eeeneeees 346 = PUSCOME ica in wo wea ER LRT METEOR AEG A peed a cclae 347 GRUS CUNEN OE: ons wa wird Hie Bie ANOLE OS TRIS REE ad wie 349 LEUCOG EPGNUS sor ese: 4 iste aed giao ava HE HEY ww NNR A Sha nasa Seeiais as 350 SF UPON GNSS a. se srsray Sra Wea Gs dep sa eeeg Ge SRST AUS WU Wears eed Sones 351 Sa LU CUUCNEN ay sci sa ot are yada ices dane ash Fi Be MEER HI aeRO NER ed 352 WA GTAMOT CUS oi cag tear osssess de gun cose rerpay es aus. eae NS oa a OREO a 353 Femur and tibia of Colymbus glacialis 6.0... ccc cece eee cee ee 361 — Podiceps rubricollis .. 6... eect ee eee 362 Sternum of Cra caruncula, Lophophorus impeyanus, and Megapodius PUDT UCR 0 ie iti a aa bin wise? Coates ge pier eae dt EUS Bee Ae 368 Deep plantar tendons of Gallus domesticus... 0.0.0... c cece cece 369 BIRDS OF THR JAPANESE EMPIRE. LITERATURE RELATING TO JAPANESE BIRDS. In the following brief notices of the most important books and papers in various periodicals which treat of the Birds of Japan, an attempt has been made to trace the gradual growth of our knowledge of the subject during the present century, They are arranged in the order of the date of publication. Pauuas. Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica. Printed in 1809, but not pub- lished until 1826. This important work, the value of which can scarcely be over- estimated, embodies the results of thirty years’ work upon the Zoology of Siberia and the adjacent Islands. Very little informa- tion regarding the birds of Japan is to be found in it, but the occurrence of 50 species on the Kurile Islands is recorded. Most of these are given on the authority of Steller, whose manuscripts were B 2 BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. placed at the disposal of Pallas ; others were sent to him by his friend Captain Billings, and a few by Dr. Merk. Tremmincx. Nouveau Recueil de Planches Coloriées d’Oiseaux. 1827-1836. The discoveries of Dr. Siebold during his stay in Japan were of so much importance that many of the birds sent by him to Leyden were figured by Temminck in the ‘ Planches Coloriées’ from time to time. No fewer than 35 species were described and most of them figured in this publication from 1827 to 1836. Kirrtitz. Ueber die Végel des Inselgruppe von Boninsima.— Mémoires présentés & Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg par divers savans. 18380, pp. 231-248. This short but imperfect, though important, paper is a record of the birds obtained by Kittlitz during a fortnight’s visit from the lst to the 14th of May, 1828, to the three larger islands of the Bonin group. Three new species of birds are described :— Hapalopteron familiare (placed by Kittlitz in the genus Izos). Cettia diphone (placed by Kittlitz in the genus Sylvia). Geocichla terrestris (placed by Kittlitz in the genus Turdus). Kirtiirz. Kupfertafeln zur Naturgeschichte der Vogel. 1832. In this little volume some of the birds found by F. H. von Kittlitz on the Bonin Islands are figured :—Columba ianthina, Columba ver- sicolor, Fringilla papa (Chaunoprocta ferreirostris), Galgulus amaurotis (Hypsipetes squamiceps), and Ardea caledonica (Nycticorax crassi- rostris). Temminck. Manuel d’Ornithologie. Second edition. Vol. iii., 1835 ; Vol. iv., 1840. In these two volumes, which form a Supplement to the first and second volumes of Temminck’s important work on European birds, many references to Japan are added to the geographical distribution of the various species which range across the Palearctic Region. It might have been a very valuable addition to the knowledge of Japanese Ornithology, but unfortunately he mentions so many birds as occurring in Japan that have never been found there by any recent collector that very little importance can be attached to these statements. For example, he says of Strix flammea (Man. d’Orn. LITERATURE. 3 iii. p. 48), “ Vespdce est exactement la méme au Japon ;” of Sylvia atricapilla (Man. d’Orn. iii. p. 132), “ Habite jusqu’au Japon, od elle est absolument la méme qu’en Europe ;” of Parus ceruleus (Man. d’Orn. iii. p. 210), “ Se trouve aussi en Morée et au Japon ;” of Perdix rubra (Man. d’Orn. iv. p. 333), ‘On trouve cette espéce au Japon, sans qu’elle y ait éprouvé la moindre différence dans les formes ou la coloration du plumage;” of Pelecanus onocrotalus (Man. d’Orn. iv. p. 560), “ Les sujets recus du Japon ne différent point de ceux d’Europe,” &c., &c. It seems probable that Temminck must have been imposed upon by some fraudulent dealer, or that by some unfortunate accident in the management of the Leyden Museum a number of European skins were mixed with the Japanese collections. Temminck & Scutreet. Fauna Japonica. Aves. 1845-1850. This book is the standard work upon the birds of Japan. It com- prises all the species that were obtained by Dr. Siebold during his residence in Southern Japan from 1823 to 1830, some of which had already been described in the ‘Planches Coloriées.’? Unfortunately, no information as to the exact locality where each species was obtained is given, and scarcely a word is said as to the habits of any of the birds. The number of species enumerated in the ‘ Fauna Japonica ’ is 200; but after eliminating one or two obvious errors, and discard- ing those which were introduced solely on the authority of Japanese pictures, which may or may not have been drawn from native birds, the number of species known to inhabit Japan at the date of the publication of this important work is reduced to 175. This does not include the birds mentioned by Pallas as found on the Kurile Islands, or those discovered by Kittlitz on the Bonin Islands. This work was published in numbers. Parts 1 to 3, containing the Raptores and Striges, were issued in 1845 (Engelmann, Bibl. Hist. Nat. p. 342), a statement confirmed by the fact that plates 8 and 9 and page 25 are quoted in September 1845 (Gray, Genera of Birds, i. p. 38), and plate 10 in October 1845 (tom. cit. p. 39). Cassin. Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Philadelphia, vi. pp. 184-188. De- scriptions of New Species of Birds, specimens of which are in the Collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila- delphia. 1852. In this paper nine supposed new species of birds from various BQ 4 BIRDS OF THE JEPANESE EMPIRE. localities are described, amongst which is an Owl (Ephialtes elegans), which was obtained by Dr. Wilson from M. J. P. Verreaux, of Paris, labelled “En Mer, cédtes du Japon, lat. 29° 47’ N., long. 126° 18! 30" E.” Unfortunately the collector’s name is not added. Cassin. Exp. Amer. Squad. China Seas and Japan. ii. pp. 219-248 (1856). This paper is an important addition to the history of Japanese birds. It is a report of a collection made by Mr. Heine, the artist of the Perry Expedition, during the years 1852-1854. It principally relates to birds obtained at Hakodadi, which was then almost virgin ground. Of the species obtained at Nagasaki by the Siebold Expedition, 18 were found by the Perry Expedition at Hakodadi, 6 others at Simoda near Yokohama, and 2 on the Loo-Choo Islands. Nine species were added to the Japanese fauna, of which the first mentioned had been recorded by Pallas from the Kurile Islands. Two were obtained at Simoda :— Fratercula mystacea. Larus ridibundus. Two were procured on thé Loo-Choo Islands :— Gallinula chloropus. Sterna sinensis. And the remaining five were collected at Hakodadi :— Picus major japonicus. Scolopax stenura. Phalaropus hyperboreus. Fratercula monocerata. Numenius pheopus variegatus. Some interesting notes on the habits of the birds, as observed by Mr. Heine, are added. Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858,-pp. 191-196. This is a catalogue of a small collection of birds made by Dr. Henderson during the cruise of the ‘Portsmouth’ in the year 1857, but it adds something to our knowledge of J apanese birds. All the examples were obtained at Hakodadi. : , LITERATURE, 5 Fifteen species included in the ‘ Fauna Japonica’ are added to the list of Yezzo birds, and 6 new species are added to the Japanese list :— Parus palustris. Locustella ochotensis, 35 lanceolata. Silta europea. Charadrius morinellus. Totanus glottis. Cassin. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1862, pp. 312-327.—Cata- logue of Birds collected by the United States North Pacific Surveying and Exploring Expedition in command of Capt. John Rodgers, United States Navy, with notes and descriptions of new species. (Apparently from 1853 to 1855.) The chief interest attaching to this paper is the addition of seven species to the list uf Loo-Choo birds, of which one, Ardea jugularis, was new to the Japanese fauna. Three species are also added to the list of Bonin birds; and one species, Alca carbo, is added to the birds of Japan. Buaxiston. On the Ornithology of Northern Japan. Ibis, 1862, pp. 809-333. Buaxiston. Corrections and Additions to Captain Blakiston’s Paper on the Ornithology of Northern Japan. Ibis, 1863, pp. 97-100. These important contributions to the ornithology of Japan are the result of a visit of three months (August, September, and October) in 1861 to Hakodadi. The number of species added to the list of Yezzo birds was at least 40, of which the following 10 were new to Japan -— Chelidon dasypus. Parus ater. Picus leuconotus. »» martius. Gecinus canus. Garrulus brandti. Nucifraga caryocatactes. Tetrao bonasia. Charadrius cantianus dealbatus. Tringa minuta ruficollis, 6 RIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Swinuor. Catalogue of the Birds of China, with remarks principally on their geographical distribution. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, pp. 382-3838, In these pages, at the close of his article on the Birds of China, Swinhoe adds a comparative list of the Birds of Amoorland, of Japan, and of Formosa. The list of the Birds of Japan possesses no special interest. Swinnor. Notes on the Ornithology of Northern Japan. Ibis, 1863, pp. 442-445. This paper is little more than an introduction to British ornitho- logists of the information in regard to Japanese birds contained in Cassin’s account of the species obtained by Dr. Henderson at Hakodadi, during the cruise of the ‘ Portsmouth.’ Wuirtety. Notes on Birds collected near Hakodadi in Northern Japan. Ibis, 1867, pp. 193-211. This paper is a list of birds procured during the residence of the writer for a year or more (1864-1865) at Hakodadi, to which is added the briefest possible notes on their habits. It forms a very important addition to our knowledge of Japanese birds. At least 40 more species were added to the list of Yezzo birds, of which the following 14 were new to Japan :— Certhia familiaris. Montifringilla brunneinucha. Tringa acuminata. Scolopax gallinula. Fuligula marila. » glacialis, » fusca stejnegeri. Colymbus septentrionalis. Podiceps cornutus. Larus marinus schistasagus. » canus. Fratercula cristatelia. Striz otus. » brachyotus. LITERATURE. 7 Suarre. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1870, vi. p. 157. This paper is a catalogue of birds procured by Mr. R. H. Berg- man in China and Japan. Fourteen species are enumerated from the latter country, but the only interesting point is the occurrence of Fuligula marila at Nagasaki. Swinnor. On the White Stork of.Japan. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, pp. 512-514. The Japanese Stork is described for the first time, under the name of Ciconia boyciana. Swinnoz. On the Rosy Ibis of China and Japan (Ibis nippon). Ibis, 1873, pp. 249-253. This is a very interesting paper on the breeding-habits and changes of plumage of the Japanese Crested Ibis. SwinHoz. On some Birds from Hakodadi, in Northern Japan. Ibis, 1874, pp. 150-166. This paper is Swinhoe’s report upon a collection of birds sent to him by Captain Blakiston, who had procured them near Hakodadi. It adds 16 species to the list of Yezzo birds, of which the following 9 were new to Japan :— ‘ Acrocephalus bistrigiceps. Cettia squameiceps. Acredula caudata. Emberiza yezzoensis. Charadrius placidus. Scolopax australis. Larus glaucus. >) glaucescens. Alca marmorata. Of these Emberiza yezzoensis had not previously been described. Swinuor. On the contents of a second Box of Birds from Hako- dadi, in Northern Japan. Ibis, 1875, pp. 447-458. This paper is Swinhoe’s report upon another collection of birds from Hakodadi, sent to him by Captain Blakiston. It adds 20 more species to the list of Yezzo birds, of which the following were new to Japan :— {8 BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Falco subbuteo. Chetura caudacuta. Lanius superciliosus. Emberiza aureola. Charadrius minor. Totanus fuscus. Tringa arenaria. » subminuta. » pygmea. Anser segetum serrirostris. » brachyrhynchus. Macrorhamphus griseus scolepaceus. Podiceps minor. Swinuor. On the contents of a third Box of Birds from Hakodadi, in Northern Japan. Ibis, 1876, pp. 8330-335. This paper is Swinhoe’s report upon another collection of birds sent to him from Hakodadi by Captain Blakiston, It adds 8 species to the list of Japanese birds :— Phylloscopus zanthodryas. Emberiza schenicola palustris. Botaurus eurythma., Crex undulata. Locustella fasciolata. Numenius cyanopus. Cypselus pacificus. Turtur risorius. Of these the last-named is from “ Yedo” (Yokohama) ; and in addition to these he adds two species to the list of Yezzo birds. Swinnor. On the contents of a fourth Box of Birds from Hako- dadi, in Northern Japan, Ibis, 1877, pp. 144-147. This paper is Swinhoe’s report upon another collection of birds from Hakodadi sent by Captain Blakiston. It adds two species to the list of Yezzo birds, both of which were new to Japan :— Colymbus adamsi. Fuligula histrionica. LITERATURE, 9 It also adds four other species to the Japanese list, three from examples obtained near Yokohama, and one from the extreme north of Hondo :— Geocichla varia. Carpodacus roseus. Falco esalon. Circus eruginosus. Buaxiston & Pryer. » americana. Somateria stelleri. 10 BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Sterna longipennis. Larus tridactylus. Fulmarus glacialis. Procellaria furcata. 39 leucorrhoa. Charadrius mongolicus. Hematopus osculans. Totanus pugnax. Ibis propingua. Botaurus sinensis. Grus japonensis. Crea pusilla. Otis dybowskii. Tetrao bonasia. » mutus. Columba livia. Cuculus poliocephalus. Upupa epops. Cotyle riparia. Corvus coraz. Lanius major. Muscicapa sibirica. Pericrocotus cinereus. Accentor alpinus erythropygius. Anthus cervinus. Erithacus cyaneus. Emberiza aureola. 53 nivalis. Loxia enucleator. Aquila lagopus. Accipiter palumbarius. Srzzonm. Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. Ibis, 1878, p. 845. In this paper an apparently new species of Wagtail is described under the name of Motacilla amurensis, from the valley of the Amoor and Japan. It was afterwards proved by Captain Blakiston to be the first summer plumage of Motacilla lugens of Kittlitz, originally described from Kamtschatka ; but as this species is quite distinct from the Motaciila lugens of Temminck and Schlegel, it forms an addition to the Japanese fauna. LITERATURE. 11 Szespoum. Remarks on Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer’s Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. Ibis, 1879, pp. 18-43. This paper is a report on the skins sent for identification by Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer, the results of which are included in the list of new species added to the Japanese fauna appended to the remarks on the previous paper. Three species are added on the authority of examples sent by Captain Blakiston whilst the paper was in progress :— Aigithalus consobrinus. Picus minor. Phylloscopus borealis. Sezsoum. Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan. Ibis, 1882, pp. 868-371. This paper adds but little to the number of Japanese species, but it clears up one or two doubtful points, the most important being that the race of Canada Goose which occurs in Japan is Anser cana- densis hutchinsi. A new species of Bullfinch is described, but sub- sequent investigations have thrown some doubt upon its validity. Buaxiston & Pryrr. Birdsof Japan. Trans. Asiatic Society Japan, 1882, pp. 84-186. This is a revised list of the Birds of Japan, including the additions made during the four years which had elapsed since the previous list was published, correcting the identification and nomenclature of the previous list, adding much information respecting the distribution of Japanese birds, and enumerating the following species, which had not previously been recorded from Japan :— Fratercula corniculata. iy psittacula. Alca columba. Sterna stolida. Larus cachinnans. Stercorarius richardsoni. $3 buffoni. 8 pomarinus. Attagen minor. Puffinus fuliginosus. Totanus stagnatilis. 12 BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Tringa canutus. » platyrhyncha. Phalaropus fulicarius. Gallicrex cristatus. Phasianus torquatus. Turtur humilis. Eurystomus orientalis. Garrulus sinensis. Lanius magnirostris. Motacilla flava. Surnia scandiaca. ‘Biaxtston. The Chrysanthemum, ii. pp. 424-428; pp. 471-475 ; pp. 521-525. Ornithological Notes. 1882. These three papers appeared in the ‘ Chrysanthemum,’ a periodical published in Yokohama, and consist of a series of interesting notes on the various species of birds observed by the writer on the south- east coast of Yezzo during a trip which he made in May and June. SezrsouM. Observations on the Pied Wagtails of Japan. Ibis, 1883, pp- 90-92. This paper describes an apparently new species of Wagtail under the name of Motacilla blukistoni, which has since been proved to be the fully adult, in the second year, of Motacilla lugens of Kittlitz. Sersonm. Exhibition of a new species of Owl from Yezzo. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, p. 466. This notice refers to a new species of Owl sent from Japan by Captain Blakiston, and named Bubo blakistoni. Buiagiston. The Chrysanthemum, iii, pp. 76-81. Ornithological Notes. 1888. This paper contains much very interesting information respecting the collections of birds made by Mr. P. L. Jouy, of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, and Mr. A. J. M. Smith in the neigh- bourhood of Fuji-yama and Tate-yama, two mountain-ranges in the largest of the Japanese Islands. One bird is added to the Japanese list :-— Emberiza spodocephala, LITERATURE. 13 Jovy. Ornithological Notes on Collections made in Japan from June to December 1882. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, pp. 273-318. Although this paper does not add any new species of bird to the Japanese list, it gives much interesting information respecting the breeding of many species of birds on the mountains of Central Japan. Buaxiston. The Chrysanthemum, iii. pp. 26-36. Ornithological Notes. 1883. This paper is entitled ‘“‘ Autumn collecting at Sapporo, Yezo,” and contains a detailed account of the various species observed during an ornithological expedition in the months of September and October. Buiaxgiston. The Chrysanthemum, iii. pp. 172-174. Ornithological Notes. 1883. This paper chiefly refers to birds obtained by the collectors of Messrs. Owston Snow & Co., on the Kurile Jslands. One bird is added to the Japanese list :— Ardea alba. Serzoum. Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan. Ibis, 1884, pp. 30-43. This paper is a report on a small collection of birds from Japan sent by Captain Blakiston. Many species which are included with some doubt in the second list of Japanese birds issued by Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer are identified for the first time. The following species are added to the Japanese list :— Puffinus griseus. Ardea prasinosceles. Lusciniola pryeri. Buaxiston. Amended List of the Birds of Japan. 1884. This pamphlet corrects some errors in the previous lists, and arranges the Birds of Japan in four groups:—A, B. Species common to Yezzo and Southern Japan. C. Species not found in Yezzo or the Kuriles. D. Species not found south of Yezzo. E. Species found on the Kuriles, but not in Japan proper. The following species are added to the Japanese list :— Diomedea nigripes. Puffinus carneipes. 14 BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Haxeirt. Notes on Woodpeckers.—No. V. On a new Japanese Woodpecker. Ibis, 1884, p. 100. In this paper the Pygmy Woodpecker of Yezzo and Hondo is separated from that of Kiusiu under the name of Iyngipicus seebohmi. Sersoum. Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan. Ibis, 1884, pp. 174-183. This paper is principally a record of the identification of skins sent by Captain Blakiston from Japan, and published in his Amended List. Seesoum. On the Cormorants of Japan and China. Ibis, 1885, pp- 270-271. In this paper the differences between Phalacrocorax carbo and P. capillatus are pointed out ; the two species were correctly separated by Temminck, and incorrectly united by Schlegel. Seesonm. Further Contributions to the Ornithology of Japan. Ibis, 1885, pp. 363-364. This short paper records the result of the examination of a few birds sent for determination by the Japanese Government through Mr. Harry Pryer. The reoccurrence of three species which had previously only been known to have been once obtained in Japan is recorded, and one species new to the Japanese fauna is added to the list, Totanus calidris. Strsnecer. Review of Japanese Birds.—I. The Woodpeckers. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, pp. 99-124. This is a very important paper, and is principally founded upon the collections brought from Japan by Mr. Jouy. Two subspecies of Gecinus canus are described, G. canus jessoensis from Yezzo, and G. canus perpallidus from Manchuria. The first will scarcely be maintained, but it is possible that the second may have some claim to be recognized. Picus leuconotus subcirris appears to be a fairly good subspecies. Picus namiyei appears to be new, but very closely allied to Picus insularis. Sresnecer. Review of Japanese Birds.—-II. Tits and Nuthatches. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, pp. 374-394, This paper adds but little to our knowledge of Japanese birds. A LITERATURE. 15 new subspecies of Nuthatch from Yezzo is described as Sitta amur- ensis clara, but it seems hardly worthy of recognition. STEJNEGER. Review of Japanese Birds.—III. Rails, Gallinules, and Coots. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, pp. 395-408. This paper adds little to the previous knowledge of the subject. Srzynecer. On a Collection of Birds made by Mr. M. Namiye in the Liu-kiu Islands, Japan, with descriptions of New Species. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, pp. 634-651. This is a most important paper. The occurrence of a Turniz on the Loo-Choo Islands is most interesting. Treron permagna is a new species of Fruit-Pigeon very closely allied to Treron formose. Scops elegans, previously known only from one or two examples, is established as a good species. Hypsipetes pryeri is a small race of Hypsipetes squamiceps. LErithacus namiyei is aspecies of Robin very closely allied to Erithacus komodori. Hirundo namiyei is probably a subspecies of Hirundo javanica. Pericrocotus tegime is a new species of Minivet allied to Pericrocotus cinereus. The occurrence of Parus castaneoventris on the Loo-Choo Islands is very interesting. Braxiston. Water-Birds of Japan. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, pp. 642-660. This paper is an analysis of the Water-Birds of Japan, which are divided into four groups: those which are circumpolar, those which range across the Palearctic Region, those which are confined to the eastern half of Asia, and those which are found on both shores of the Pacific. : Srzsoum. On the Bullfinches of Siberia and Japan. Ibis, 1887, pp. 100-103. In this paper an attempt is made to fix the respective ranges of the various species and subspecies of the genus Pyrrhula which occur in Siberia and Japan. Szzsoum. Notes on the Birds of the Loo-Choo Islands. Ibis, 1887, pp. 173-182. This is a very important paper, the greater part of it being written from information supplied by Mr. Pryer, who visited the Loo-Choo. 16 BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Islands, and sent a small collection of birds obtained at Naha, the capital of Okinawa-sima, the largest island of the central group. Iyngipicus kizuki nigrescens is described as a small dark race of Temminck’s Pigmy Woodpecker. Picus noguchii is described as a new species, possibly allied to the genus Blythipicus. Other species new to the Japanese fauna are Sterna melanauchen. » dougalli. Dendrocygna javanica, StesnecEeR. Review of Japanese Birds.—IV. Synopsis of the Genus Turdus. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, pp. 4-5. In this paper a supposed new species of Thrush is described from the main island of Japan under the name of Turdus jouyi. StesnecEr. Notes on the Northern Palearctic Bullfinches. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, pp. 103-110. In this paper various points relating to the genus Pyrrhula are discussed, amongst others the complete intergradation of Pyrrhula orientalis and Pyrrhula rosacea. Sresnecer. Zeitschr. gesammte Ornith. 1887, pp. 166-176.—A List of the Birds hitherto reported as occurring in the Liu-kiu Islands, Japan. This paper combines the information respecting the birds of the Loo-Choo Islands contained in the writer’s article on that subject with that furnished by Mr. Pryer, to which are added the species previously recorded from this locality. Strsnecer. Review of Japanese Birds.—V. Ibises, Storks, and Herons. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, pp. 271-319. This paper contains much interesting matter; the claim of Pla- talea minor to be regarded as a good species is substantiated. A supposed new species of Reef-Heron is described under the name of Demiegretta ringert from the island of Tsu-sima. Strsnecer. On the systematic name of the Kamtschatkan and Japanese Carrion-Crow. Proc. United States Nat. Mus, 1887, pp. 320-321. In this paper the writer comes to the conclusion that the Japanese Crow ought to bear the name of Corvus corone orientalis. LITERATURE. 17 Stesnecer. Further contributions to the Avifauna of the Liu-Kiu Islands, Japan, with descriptions of new species. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, pp. 391-415. This paper contains important infermation respecting a collection of birds made by Mr. Uishi on the Yaye-yama Islands, the most southerly group of the Loo-Choo chain. An alleged new species of Rail is described as Porzana pheopyga, which seems to be an immature example of Crex fusca. A new species of Crez allied to Crex mandarina is described as Euryzona sepiaria. An alleged new species of Turtle-Dove is described as Turtur stimpsoni, apparently an example of Turtur orientalis. The true home of Erithacus koma- dori has been at last discovered. Stesnecer. Review of Japanese Birds.—VI. The Pigeons. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, pp. 416-429. This paper is valuable, inasmuch as it contains a careful and minute description of the type of Columba versicolor described by Kittlitz from the Bonin Islands, and also of an example of Carpo- phaga ianthina, also obtained by Kittlitz on the Bonin Islands— both specimens being preserved in the Museum of the Imperial Academy of Science in St. Petersburg. The latter is made the type of a supposed new species, Janthenas nitens. Sresnecer. On a Collection of Birds made by Mr. M. Namiye in the Islands of Idzu, Japan. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, pp. 482-487. This short paper contains two very important statements. An entirely new species of Merula is described as Turdus celenops; and the breeding-grounds of the very rare Guillemot Alcea wumizusume are pointed out. 5; Srzsnecer. Description of a New Species of Fruit-Pigeon (Jan- thenas jouyt) from the Liu-Kiu Islands, Japan. The American Naturalist, 1887, pp. 585-584. The species described in this paper appears to be a very well- marked one. Sresnecer. Review of Japanese Birds.—VII. The Creepers. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, pp. 606-611. In this paper the two races of the Common Creeper found in the Japanese Islands are discussed. c 18 BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Jovy. On Cormorant Fishing in Japan. The American Naturalist, 1888, pp. 1-3. This short paper contains some very interesting information re- specting the capture of fish in the rapid rivers of Japan by Cor- morants especially trained for the work. Sgrsoum. Further notes on the Birds of the Loo-Choo Islands. This, 1888, pp. 232-236. This paper is principally a correction of a few inaccurate identifica- tions on the part of Mr. Pryer in his paper on the Loo-Choo Islands ; based upon the information contained in Dr. Stejneger’s article, and confirmed by a small collection of skins. One species, Zosterops simplex, is added to the Japanese list. Strynecer. Review of Japanese Birds.—VIII. The Nutcracker. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1888, pp. 425-432. This paper is an attempt to prove that the Japanese Nutcrackers are more nearly allied to the slender-billed Siberian race than to the thick-billed European race of the species. Strynecer. Review of Japanese Birds.—IX. The Wrens. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1888, pp. 547-548. In this paper the Wren inhabiting the Kurile Islands is described as Troglodytes fumigatus kurilensis. Jutes Sorter. Archives des Missions Scientifiques. 8rd Series, vol. xv. pp. 269-280. 1889. This paper contains some interesting particulars respecting the birds of Japan and their migrations. Mons. Soller was surgeon on board a French steamship which navigated the Japanese Seas in 1885, 1886, and 1887. Srrsoum. On the Birds of the Bonin Islands. Ibis, 1890, pp. 95- 108. This paper contains notes upon an important collection of birds made in 1889 by Mr. P. A. Holst on the Bonin Islands. 19 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF JAPANESE BIRDS. In the following Table the species which have been recorded from the Japanese Empire are arranged in systematic order. The columns on the right hand represent the distribution within the Japanese Empire; whilst that on the left represents the distribution during the breeding-season outside its limits. C. means that the species is Circumpolar; P. that it ranges across the Palearctic Region, but is not found in the Nearctic Region; E.P. that it ranges across the Palearctic Region, but that there are two races, an Eastern Race and a Western Race, which intergrade with each other, and are therefore regarded as only subspecifically distinct; S. that it ranges across Siberia into Eastern, but not into Western Europe; E.S. that the breeding-range of the species is confined to East Siberia, and does not extend to West Siberia or to Europe; P.O. that the species breeds on both the Asiatic and American shores of the North Pacific Ocean; A. that the species breeds in America, but is not known to do so in Asia, though probably such is generally the case; T. that the species is a Tropical one, and breeds chiefly in the Oriental Region, or in a few instances in the Australian Region; J. that although it has been found as a winter migrant, or as an accidental visitor on the mainland, or on more southerly islands, it is not known to breed beyond the limits of the Japanese Empire; and J.J. that the species is believed to be peculiar to the Japanese Empire. In this Table the subspecific names are omitted, but full par- ticulars of the variations, if any, from the typical form, and their geographical distribution where known, will be found amongst the notes devoted to the species which are represented in the Japanese Empire by closely allied and intergrading races. BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Systematic List of Species. HERE be Sb ths bie Babee ws whi BREE nnnnnynnnnnunnunnnnnnttntn ey BH & Shit GAT 4 4 CD bo ert bo bo GON 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34, 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. . Monticola cyanus . Cinclus pallasi . Accentor alpinus . Pratincola maura - Ruticilla aurorea . Tarsiger cyanurus . Niltava cyanomelena . Siphia luteola . Xanthopygia narcissina . Muscicapa sibirica Bee eee eee Pee ee ee Oe eee bo NO . Terpsiphone princeps PASSERES. Turdine. » Geocichla varia .............005 or sibirica ......... Sasa 3 terrestris ............ . Merula cardis...............00. 55 LUSCatar, cess wawess wae » Mhaumanni.............. yp | pallida. gecksa ners cd weed - chrysolaus : yy OMSCUTA. eee eae celeenops . Erithacus akahige S namiyei komadori ............ 9 calliope Pe eee eee eee 5 CyaneusS..........000, a PUDIGUS: | sgsin cy saccades ‘ latirostris............ Crateropodine. Hypsipetes amaurotis .......... squamiceps.......... Hapalopteron familiare Zosterops palpebrosa .......,.. yy japonica ............ Sylviine. Phylloscopus coronatus ........ 5 borealis .......... * xanthodryas ...... tenellipes ........ Acrocephalus orientalis ........ bistrigiceps ...... Locustella fasciolata Kurile Isles. Yezzo. Hondo, Kiu-siu, Loo-Choo Isles. Seven Isles. Bonin Isles. 1 ee a [KR ER HE * * * a i * * *¥ ee ec ee ae ee [ke RH! se BEX HHH HERE RW HR HK! xk RR RK OK lee ERK RR HK K * # 1 #* * * * * eK KK HK GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. So ee Git 4 & Set NROUDANnDDANHO SSE SR ISIS HRnRnnn 60. 61, 62. 63. 64. 65. 66, 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. . Troglodytes fumigatus.......... . Certhia familiaris sea aes ae . Sitta cesia..... cece cece eee » Lanius major........eeeee eee . Pericrocotus cinereus ,......... 3g g Ala | g a sla} Systematic Li Species. eH : | ais ystematic List of Species @igi#lieielels BIS] ei] s}o]e2/ 3 o ° - ° Oo o SRO |e lH l/a] Aa Sylviine (continued). ELS, | 41. Locustella ochotensis ...... a Bits % S. | 42 45 lanceolata .......... * J. | 43. Cettia squamiceps.............. «x | * ES. | 44... cantana ..........00005- x | * E.S. | 45. ,,_ cantillans .............. « | # J.J. | 46. 4, diphone ............ stigsais act. hae E.P, | 47. Cisticola cisticola .............. * J.J. | 48. Lusciniola pryeri ............+. * Parine. E.P. | 49. Regulus cristatus .............. « | * E.P. | 50. Parus palustris ................ x | * PB, | DBl.- 43. later sae casa cas caw saan ell oe * ES. | 52. ,, atricops .........-.006-5 x | * Fu | BSS - gy VAPWUS ose sieeeilecs facies gains xe | ® # P. | 54. Acredula caudata ...........45. # J. | 55, trivirgata ........6.66 ae a6 S. | 56. Zgithalus consobrinus ........ 8. P. »P. Corvine. Corvus corax........ se eee ee eee » macrorhynchus ........ ff CORONE) aesaiaea daayena wes y Gauricus ........eeeeee neglectus ...... veeieptane ee pastinator .............. N ucifraga caryocatactes ........ Cyanopolius cyanus .........+.. Garrulus brandti .............. » japonicus ............ » «—s SiMeNSIS ........ ese Pica caudata .......6000 wees ” Laniine. » Mmagnirostris............ y» Superciliosus............ y» lucionensis ,........... » bucephalus ............ 33 tegime............ * * * eee! x ** **e*e IT eK RH * & BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Systematic List of Species. fs te BAND Piet Ho mt Sea & ar a uu ft as BRau& Ae a ft PARRA ADHHADADUNADHNANNQNOAMN yy te Bee Sturnine. 79, Sturnus cineraceus ...........- 80. Sturnia pyrrhogenys .......... 81. Ampelis garrulus ............ 82. 4, japonicus .,.......... Motacilline. 83, Motacilla lugens ...........6.. 84. 3 APONICA....... 0.00 85. 5 oarula ...... petinea 86. Havas cis gnecsnss natin 87. Anthus maculatus ............ 88. » Spinoletta ............ 89. y GOTVINUS.... ee. e eee Alaudine, 90, Alauda arvensis .............. 91 » alpestris.............. Fringilline, 92. Coccothraustes vulgaris........ 93. personatus...... 94, Loxia curvirostra Adi Rouen ica ea 95, Chaunoproctus ferreirostris 96. Pinicola enucleator............ 97. Carpodacus roseus ............ 98. rf erythrinus ........ 99. ” sanguinolentus .... 100. Fringilla spinus..... decent 101. 6 Umar ae sheet yates die gic 102. = montifringilla . Pero ree 103. ” SINICA. 6. s5sse.8secs dess's ace 104. sy kawarahiba .......... 105. ‘i Kittlitzi... 6... 106. Montifringilla brunneinucha.. , . 107. Pyrrhula griseiventris ........ 108. Passer montanus.............. 109. se PUTNAM: estacak ere aes, 110. Emberiza ciopsis.............. 111. as yessoensis ........., 112. a scheeniclus........., 113. 39 POSH CAs ica tmien 6 45 114. 35 fucata............., 115. i sulphurata ........., 116. 95 personata ........., 117. “2 spodocephala......,, 118. 7 ClOPANS ~ ioe Shea ows Kurile Isles. Yezzo, Hondo. Kiu-siu. Loo-Choo Isles. Seven Isles. Bonin Isles. * eK X * * * * * eK * * *# * eR * oe OK ee lke RR eR KK a ee De Re ROKK eee * [Kee RKREKKRR RH KH! ee RK Ke eRe RH KKK RH RH * * GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Systematic List of Species. 3] mt Tannin iS tf Sake 4 BS & ac] Homnruyyede QxutAn St ; SSSA at 119. Emberiza rutila .............. 120. is aureola wo. .eeeee eee 121, 9 variabilis .......... 122. 3 Rivalis:. 0. i06esace ees 123, 5 lapponica .......... Hirundinine, 124, Hirundo rustica .............- 125. By: JAVANICA secsive sie spent a « 82 Species common to Yezzo and Southern J apan ; resi- dents 108, winter visitors 83, summer visitors 47 238 Species found in Southern Japan, but not in Yezzo; residents 25, summer visitors 86. . . . . . 61 Additional species from Loo-Choo Islands ......... =. «#17 Bonin Islands ....... 2.2.2.4 9 Islands in Corean Straits. . . .... . 3 Seven Islands. . . .... .. 2.48. 1 Total . . . . 881 These figures are, of course, approximate. Many of the migratory species which have only been recorded from the Kurile Islands or from Yezzo may occasionally wander further south in winter; and it is not at all improbable that some of the residents and summer visitors which have hitherto been only known from Southern Japan may hereafter be found to occur in Yezzo. In either case the number of species common to Yezzo and Southern Japan (which already amounts to 62 per cent. of the whole) would be increased. If the list be restricted to the birds of Yezzo and Southern Japan, the number of species common to both is raised to 72 per cent. ; but if the winter visitors be excluded, it is only raised to 69 per cent. A somewhat anomalous fact in the distribution of Japanese birds is the occurrence of Hast-Siberian species in Hondo which for some reason do not visit Yezzo. Cyanopolius cyanus inhabits the valley of the Amoor, and has been recorded from Lake Baikal; nevertheless it is not known to have occurred in Yezzo, though it is not uncommon in Hondo. Aquila chrysaetus, Pernis apivorus, Butaster indicus, Falco tin- nunculus, Emberiza elegans, Emberiza spodocephala, Merula obscura, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 35 Geocichla sibirica, Accentor alpinus, Pericrocotus cinereus, Lanius magnirostris, Corvus pastinator, Corvus dauricus, Hirundo daurica, Grus cinerea, Grus leucogeranus, Grus monachus, Ciconia boyciana, Numenius minutus, Tringa canutus, Totanus terekius, Totanus calidris, Stercorarius pomarinus, Anas strepera, Anas formosa, Tadorna cornuta, Anser hyperboreus, Cygnus bewicki, and possibly one or two other species have a somewhat similar distribution. The explanation of these at first sight rather startling facts is not difficult to find. In the first place, about half of the species enume- rated above are winter visitors to Japan, and migrate every spring and autumn along the coasts of Yezzo to and from their winter- quarters. It is not surprising that they have escaped detection in Yezzo, because they only pass through on migration and do not winter there; nor is it surprising that they do not winter there, because the mean winter temperature of Yezzo is so much lower than that of Southern Japan. According to the ‘ Physikalische Atlas’ of Berghaus the mean temperature of Hakodadi during January is 4 degrees (Cent., or 74 degrees Fahr.) below freezing, whilst at Yokohama it is as much above it. In the second place, the remaining half of these species breed in Southern Japan, and many of them may not breed in Yezzo because of the difference in the mean summer temperature. According to the same authority, the mean temperature of the valley of the Amoor and its tributaries during July ranges from about 63° (Fahr.) in the north to about 78° (Fahr.) in the south. The mean temperature of Hakodadi for the same period is below the lowest of these figures, whilst that of Yokohama is above the highest. The mean temperature appears to be a much more potent factor in the distribution of Japanese birds than the distance from the land or the depth of the intervening ocean. The reason why the Tsugaru Straits, or Blakiston’s Line, is an important one in the distribution of birds is not because it represents deep sea as Wallace’s Line does, but because it happens to coincide with certain Isothermal Lines which bound both the breeding- grounds and the winter-quarters of so many species. Besides the 30 species that have been recorded from Yezzo but not from Hondo, there are at least 50 species of birds which have been recorded from Hondo but not from Yezzo, and there are very many more that have been recorded from Yezzo but not from the Kurile Islands. Most of the former are species which breed in the Arctic regions and seldom migrate so far south as Japan; but many of them are species that migrate further south than Japan, and it is D2 36 BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. only an accident that they have been recorded from Yezzo but not from Hondo. Precisely the same remark applies to many of the latter species ; they must have passed Yezzo, and they may have passed the Kuriles in order to get to Hondo. There are, however, amongst the resident birds, three remarkable instances of species inhabiting Siberia and Yezzo which.are represented in Hondo by allied but different species :— Gecinus canus is represented in ‘Hondo‘by Gecinus awokera. Garrulus brandti is represented'in Hondo by Garrulus japonicus. Acredula caudata is represented in Hondo by Acredula trivirgata. A third point of view from which ‘the birds recorded from the Japanese Empire may be ‘regarded, is in relation to these recorded from the British Islands. About 180 species in -each list are abso- lutely identical, or so closely allied that they are not regarded as more than subspecifically distinct. Amn analysis of thespecies belonging to each suborder, and, in the case of the Passeres, of those belonging to each family, represented in the two districts, shows a remarkable similarity between the two faunas, which is all the more remarkable when the relative position of the two groups of islands to the mainland is taken into consideration. : The Japanese Empire consists of a range of islands extending from Kamtschatka, in latitude 534°, southwards to Formosa, in latitude 234°, a range of thirty degrees. A similar range on the Atlantic coast of the Palearctic Region would extend from Yorkshire to the Canary Islands. ‘The parallels of latitude have, however, little to do with the distribution of birds, which appears to be governed by the Isothermal Lines. The January isothermals of the Japanese Empire transferred to the European coast would range from Cherry Island to Gibraltar ; those of July from John o’ Groat’s to'the-Cape Verdes ; whilst those of mean annual temperature would range from Iceland to the Canaries. Japan proper, from the north of Yezzoto the south of Kiu-siu, is much less extensive, and only ranges from 444° to 31°, or only thirteen degrees and a half. A similar range on the map of Europe would extend from Bordeaux to Morocco. The corresponding January isothermals would range from Jan Mayen to Lisbon, those of July from London to the Canaries, whilst those of mean annual temperature would range from the Orkneys to Gibraltar. With a climatic range of so much greater extent than is possessed by the British Islands, it would be reasonable to expect that the number of species found in the Japanese Empire should much exceed those of its Atlantic rival, were it not for other considerations. The ornithology of the British Islands has been studied for a GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 37 century or more by a succession of students in every part of the country, who have vied with each other in detecting every rare or accidental visitor to our shores. On the other hand, the ornithology of the Japanese Empire has only been studied during the last half- century, by a dozen visitors who have spent a month or two in a few isolated spots, and by two or three residents who have occupied the leisure of a busy life in the study of Zoology, of which the collection of birds has only formed a branch. Kt is therefore fair to assume that there are many of the rarer residents, or of the irregular visitors, which have hitherto escaped detection in Japan; and there can be scarcely any doubt that new species remain to be discovered on the islands which have not yet been explored. British. Japanese. PassERES—Turdin® .........0000- 27 28 Crateropodine.......... 0 5 Sylviine ..........00. 20 15 PATO. 2440094 vies saps 15 11 Corvin® 2... ee eee eee 10 12 Laniime ....... eee eee 5 7 Sturnin® ...........06. 3 4 Motacilline ............ 12 7 Alauding ...........065 6 2 Fringilline ............ 382 32 irundinin®............ 4 5 134 128 SCANSORES s gacciwesed oveed ea aeie's 4 11 UPUPE vce e ceca 1 1 CoLUMBa... 4 9 CUCULL ....... cee eee 3 4 FIALCYONES ...... cece cece reese a 2 3 CORA OLR oie ce sana ce aa Messen oa teen ts 7 4 STRIGHS ........4. eleeivniaseienaere 10 11 ACCIPITRES: (ei oia's disres bi aiehave eon eanse 25 21 PEATAUGBR gcsc 4 se as-08 Hee ee 2 4 FIERODIONES oo. cece e eee e ee eeees 12 15 STEGANOPODES ....... esse ee eeaes 3 8 TUBINARES s2ccaded ssa wien ve aie s 8 11 ANSERIG( 1 coitus den die Pe teased pm avactie's 44 37 GAVE oon crnend's Gdacaig sd sia ea roua- 37 85 LAIMICOL Ai 4 eases ee os cane anewe as 48 50 GRACE onchecia chiis nadkere sae es 2 6 FULICARLE wees eee cet eens ences 10 9 PYGOPODES: as 210184 c8 aignaeea dea > 9 7 GALUINAT ie dase hisiasitn Aue RAs 9 7 874 881 The birds of Japan do not differ very widely from the birds of the British Islands. It would be very remarkable if they did, The 38 BIRDS OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE. Japanese Islands bear almost exactly the same relation to the east coast of the Palearctic Region as the British Islands do to its west coast. The Palearctic Region, as defined by Sclater and Wallace, is a very clearly defined one so far as the majority of birds are con- cerned. The range of many species of birds extends uninterruptedly from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan. Of course there is no species of bird which is found both in Britain and Japan but not in the intervening district. Cases of interrupted areas of distribution are almost unknown, though, as will hereafter appear, there are many cases in which West-European birds re- semble more closely East-Asiatic ones, than the Siberian races which intervene. This is unquestionably the most remarkable fact con- nected with the birds of Japan, and it is one which has not been insisted upon as much as it ought to have been. It is an undoubted fact that in most species where climatic variations of colour occur, the extreme of whiteness is not found in the examples from Central Siberia, but in those from Kamtschatka. The mean annual temperature of the former locality is nearly twenty degrees lower than that of the latter, and the mean winter temperature shows a much greater difference. Nearly all the species which appear to exhibit these climatic variations of colour are resident birds, which moult only once a year, in July and August ; and the mean tempera- ture of July, when the new feathers are forming, appears to coincide with the variation of colour so closely that it is difficult to resist the conclusion that they are cause and effect. The Common Nuthatch (Sitta cesia) ranges completely across Europe and Siberia from the British Islands to Japan. Throughout this extensive range very little variation occurs in the colour of its upper parts, which is a bright slate-grey. On the other hand, the variation in the colour of the underparts is very remarkable. In the West the range of this species extends as far south as Algeria, where the colour of the underparts is dark buff, paler on the throat. Pro- ceeding in a north-easterly direction, little change is observable until the Baltic is reached, when the white on the throat gradually increases, until at Dantzig it has covered the breast, and at St. Petersburg it has spread over the belly. In Central Siberia the underparts, except the extreme flanks and the under tail-coverts, are snow-white, but in the valley of the Amoor and in Southern Japan the buff has reap- peared on the belly, and the Dantzig bird is reproduced. The southern limit of the eastern range of this species appears to be South GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 39 China, where the colour of the underparts resembles exactly that of birds of Western Europe and Algeria. The young in first plumage of the European race closely resemble their parents, but those of the Central-Siberian race closely resemble the adults of the Baltic and Amoor races, leading to the supposition that the Central-Siberian race is the one which has changed most recently. The Kamtschatkan race of the Nuthatch resembles the Central- Siberian race in the whiteness of its underparts, but is paler on the upper parts, especially on the forehead. These climatic variations correspond to a remarkable degree with the July Isothermal Lines. The palest race (from Kamtschatka) moults in a mean temperature of 54° to 58°; the Central-Siberian race enjoys a mean temperature at that season of 58° to 62°. The Western race in the Baltic Provinces, which is scarcely distinguish- able from the Eastern race in the valley of the Amoor, moults in a mean temperature of 65° to 70°; whilst the dark race in Southern Europe, and its prototype in China, enjoys a mean temperature of 75° to 80° during the moulting-season. Not only is the Kamtschatkan race of Sitta cesia whiter than any other climatic race of that species, but the Kamtschatkan races of Pyrrhula vulgaris, Pica caudata, and Parus palustris exhibit the same peculiarity. It has been stated (Stejneger, ‘Orn. Expl. Commander Islands and Kamtschatka,’ pp. 230, 231) that the Kamtschatkan races of Picus major and Picus minor are whiter than the Central-Siberian races of those species, but this does not appear to be the case. In both those species, however, the Japanese races are darker than the Siberian races, and more nearly resemble those of Western Europe. The Japanese race of Picus major closely resembles the South-Euro- pean race, whilst the Japanese race of Picus minor scarcely differs from the South-Scandinavian race of that species. The Japanese race of Gecinus canus is not known to differ from the European race of that species, but there is good reason to believe that Siberian examples are on an average greyer. The Japanese race of Falco tinnunculus scarcely differs in colour from the race which breeds on the islands off the coast of West Africa. These races are darker and more richly coloured than those in the intervening country. Siberian examples of Certhia familiaris are whiter than those from Japan or Europe, and the same remark applies to Siberian examples 40 BIKDS. OF THE JAPANESE" EMPIRE. of Picus leuconotus, Strix uralensis, Stria brachyotus, and Nucifraga caryocatactes. There are several instances in which Japanese species resemble European species more closely than they resemble their nearest Asiatic allies: for example, Accentor rubidus and Accentor modularis, Garrulus japonicus and Garrulus glandarius, Acredula trivirgata and Acredula rosea, &c. The Common Jay (Garrulus giandarius) ranges across Europe, north of the Mediterranean, as far east as the valley of the Volga. In the valley of the Kama it is said to intergrade with the Siberian Jay (Garrulus brandti), which ranges eastwards from the Ural Moun- tains across Southern Siberia to Yezzo, the north island of Japan. In Southern Japan it is replaced by the Japanese Jay (Garrulus japo- nicus), a species so nearly allied to the European form that Schlegel only admitted it to be subspecifically distinct. The young in first plumage of the European Jay differ very slightly from their parents ; but those of the Siberian Jay are less streaked on the crown, resem- bling in this respect the adults of the Chinese Jay. There can, how- ever, be little doubt that the Japanese Jay is more nearly related to the Siberian than to the Chinese species. The three semitropical forms of the Common Jay are, Garrulus bispecularis from the Hima- layas, Garrulus sinensis from China, and Garrulus taivanus from Formosa. These three species differ from the semi-arctic Jays in having no white on the outer webs of the secondaries. These facts can only be explained by the assumptions that Formosa received its Jay from China, and that Hondo received its Jay from Siberia. These assumptions also account for the absence (so far as is known) of a Jay on the Loo-Choo Islands. To explain the distribution of the two species on the Japanese islands, we can only assume that when the Jay which formerly ranged across the Palearctic Region was driven southwards, the island of Yezzo was temporarily incapaci- tated from serving as a residence for Jays, and that it remained with- out a Jay until the Siberian Jays in their changed climate had differ- entiated into Garrulus brandti, which eventually emigrated to Yezzo. The Japanese Jay is not known to intergrade with the Siberian Jay, and can always be distinguished from the Common Jay by its black lores. In spite of its superficial resemblance to the Common Jay, the Japanese Jay is probably more nearly allied to the Siberian J ay, inasmuch as the colour of the crown varies with age much more than the colour of the lores. GEOGKAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 41 The similarity between the British and Japanese Long-tailed Tits has often been remarked. They are so nearly allied that some examples are very difficult to determine; nevertheless, be- tween their respective ranges an apparently distinct species occurs. The Continental Long-tailed Tit (Acredula caudata) is found in Northern and Central Europe, and across Siberia to the island of Yezzo. It can scarcely be called the arctic race of the Long-tailed Tit, firstly, because it occurs in Central Europe, and secondly, be- cause in Central Siberia a real arctic race of Acredula caudata occurs. There is, however, much evidence to prove that it intergrades with the British Long-tailed Tit, and it may possibly do so with the Japanese Long-tailed Tit. One fact is absolutely certain, that the immature birds of all these races differ widely from the Siberian race, and approach very near the other two races, from which it may rea- sonably be assumed that it is the Siberian race which has become whiter, and not the British and Japanese races which have become darker. The existence of a pale Siberian race between a darker Eastern and a datker Western race is found almost exclusively amongst resi- dent birds. Migratory species either range with little or no local variation across the Palearctic Region from the British Islands to Japan, or are represented by an Eastern and a Western race. Very many Japanese birds belong to this. category. The following British birds are represented in Japan by Eastern races which are regarded as oulysubspecifically distinct because they are connected by intermediate forms :—Buteo vulgaris, Regulus cristatus, Lanius excubitor, Motacilla boarula, Anthus spinoletta, Alcedo ispida, Ardea alba, Anser segetum, Tringa alpina, Tringa minuta, Charadrius cantianus, Numenius arquatus, Numenius pheopus, Limosa rufa, Limosa melanura, Rallus aquaticus, Podiceps rubricallis, and some others. CLASSIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF JAPANESE BIRDS. Subclass PASSERIFORMES. The Passeriformes are the most numerous and the’ most highly developed of birds, though they contain some archaic families. So far as is known, they are the only birds which combine the following characters :— Young born with a few scattered tufts of down, but never possessing a continuous downy covering before acquiring feathers : flexor longus hallucis (and not flexor perforans digitorum) leading to hallux, or in default of that digit to fourth digit reversed to take its place. To these characters others may be added to strengthen the diagnosis :—The young are born helpless, and require to be fed in the nest by their parents for many days. The spinal feather-tract on the neck is well defined by lateral bare tracts, and is not split by a spinal bare tract. The number of the cervical (including the cervico-dorsal) vertebre does not exceed 15. The Subclass Passeriformes contains three Orders. Order PICO-PASSERES. The Pico-Passeres possess, of course, the five characters which have already been described as found in all the Passeriformes; but in order to diagnose them it is only necessary to add to the two cha- racters which are diagnostic of the larger group the following :— Ambiens and accessory femoro-caudal muscles absent. The Order Pico-Passeres contains six Suborders. Suborder I. PASSERES. Palate egithognathous ; deep plantar tendons not united by a vinculum. The Passeres comprise nearly half the known species of birds, and TURDINE. 43 are represented in every part of the world capable of producing food upon which a land-bird can exist. They may be divided into several families, but all those found in Japan belong to the Passeride (or Acromyodi, if the group be regarded as of more than family rank). The subfamilies of the Passeride are very difficult to define, and the following attempts at definitions of such as are represented in the Japanese Empire can only be regarded as provisional. TURDINZ. Sexes generally different; young in first plumage (which is moulted in the first autumn) spotted, streaked, and barred on the underparts, and generally also on the upper parts ; first primary very variable, always present, but never as long as the second. The fea- thering of the nostril, the development of the rictal bristles, and the width of the bill vary considerably, but it is impossible to draw any line between the Muscicapine and Turdine genera. The Turdine are almost cosmopolitan, and are well represented in Japan. 1. GEOCICHLA VARIA. (WHITE’S GROUND-THRUSH.) Turdus varius, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 449 (1826). White’s Ground-Thrush differs from every other Japanese Thrush in having black concentric markings on both the upper and the under parts. It is the largest Japanese Thrush, and has fourteen tail- feathers. Figures : Gould, Birds of Great Britain, ii. pl. 39; Dresser, Birds of Europe, ii. pl. 10. White’s Ground-Thrush was known to inhabit the mountains of Japan at least as long ago as 1840 (Temminck, Man. d’Orn. iv. p- 604) ; and was obtained in some numbers by the Siebold Expe- dition, presumably near Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 67). It has only once occurred on the island of Yezzo (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 241), but it must be a very common bird on the more southerly Japanese islands, as great numbers are exposed for sale in the Yokohama market during winter (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, 44 PASSERES. p. 144). There area score or more examples in the Pryer collection, and Mr. Ringer has procured it near Nagasaki. White’s Thrush breeds in East Siberia and North China, and is an accidental visitor to Europe and the British Islands. 2. GEOCICHLA SIBIRICA. (SIBERIAN GROUND-THRUSH.) Turdus sibiricus, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 694 (1776). The male of the Siberian Ground-Thrush is greyish black, with a white eye-stripe; the female is olive-brown, with white spots on the underparts ; both sexes are typically Geocichline in the white pattern on the under surface of the wings. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 31 (female) ; Dresser, Birds of Europe, ii. pl. 12 (male and female). There is no authentic record of the occurrence of the Siberian Ground-Thrush on the island of Yezzo (Blakiston, Amended List of the Birds of Japan, p. 58); but it breeds in some numbers on the mountains of the main island. I have three examples collected by Mr. Jouy on Fuji-yama, and there are twelve examples in the Pryer collection from the same locality (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 164). The Siberian Ground-Thrush breeds in Eastern Siberia, and is only an accidental visitor to Europe. It is said to have occurred once in the British Islands. Eggs said to be of this species in the Pryer collection resemble those of the Ring-Ouzel, but are smaller. Mr. Jouy found this bird quite as shy and retiring on Fuji-yama as I found it in the valley of the Yenesay. It frequents the deep woods, and in Japan is found as high as 5000 feet above the sea- level (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 278). Itis a fine songster. 3. GEOCICHLA TERRESTRIS. (KITTLITZ’S GROUND-THRUSH.) Turdus terrestris, Kittlitz, Mém. présentés 4 l’Acad. Imp. des Sciences de St. Pétersh. par divers savans, 1830, p. 244. Kittlitz’s Ground-Thrush agrees with every other species of Geo- TURDINE. 45 cichla in the white pattern on the under surface of its wing, but differs from them all in having uniform brown axillaries. It is a brewn bird, conspicuously streaked with black on the mantle, and obscurely spotted with dark brown on the breast. Figures: Kittlitz, Mém. présentés & l’Acad. Imp. des Sciences de St. Pétersb. par divers savans, 1830, pl. 17. Kittlitz’s Ground-Thrush is supposed to be peculiar to the Bonin Islands, where it was discovered in 1828. Besides the type specimen in the Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Peters- burg, there is a second example in the Leyden Museum, and a third in the Vienna Museum. It appears to be allied to Geocichla sibirica, and quite as closely to Geocichla pinicola and Geocichla nevia. 4, MERULA CARDIS. (GREY JAPANESE OUZEL.) Turdus cardis, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 518 (1818). The male Grey Japanese Ouzel somewhat resembles the male of Geocichla sibirica, but it has no white eye-stripe, or white pattern on the underside of the wings. The female is olive-grey above, and white spotted with dark brown below. Adult males have slate-grey axillaries; female and immature males have these feathers orange- chestnut, but at no age is there any chestnut on the tail. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 29 (male adult and first winter), pl. 830 (female adult and first winter). The Grey Japanese Ouzel appears to be confined to the Japanese Islands during the breeding-season. It is a common summer visitor to Yezzo, whence I have three adult males, one adult female, and two immature males, collected by Mr. Henson between the 27th of May and the 20th of September. I have also a young bird in first plumage, collected by Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi in August (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 41), and two others collected by Mr. Jouy on Fuji- yama in July, so that there can be no doubt that it breeds on both islands. In the Pryer collection there are three adult males and two adult females from Fuji-yama, in addition to two immature males and one immature female. I have other examples, both of adults and immature birds, collected in the same locality by Mr. Heywood Jones and Mr. Jouy; and in the British Museum there is an example collected by Mr. Whitely at Nagasaki. 46 PASSERES. The Grey Japanese Ouzel is a lowland bird, and breeds abundantly at the base of Fuji-yama. The nest is generally placed in the fork of a small tree overhanging a stream, and is composed of moss, roots, and dry leaves, with a foundation of mud. It is lined with grass, fine roots, and horsehair (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 277). Eggsin the Pryer collection resemble those of the Missel-Thrush, but are slightly smaller. This bird is a fine songster, and is much valued by the Japanese as a cage-bird (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 165). It leaves Japan in autumn to winter in South China and Hainan. I have been unable to find any evidence in favour of the statement (David and Oustalet, Ois. Chine,! p. 150) that it migrates to the valley of the Amoor in spring. 5, MERULA FUSCATA. (DUSKY OUZEL.) Turdus fuscatus, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 451 (1826). The Dusky Ouzel may be recognized by the chocolate-chestnut colour of its axillaries, by the chestnut on its tertials and greater wing-coverts, aud by the brown of its upper parts, which is russet rather than olive. Figures: Gould, Birds of Asia, ii. pl. 1 (male and female) ; Dresser, Birds of Europe, ii. pl. 7 (male and female). The Dusky Ouzel is a winter visitor to Japan, arriving from the north in great numbers. A few remain to winter in the northern island, but most of them pass onwards, and winter in the more southerly islands. They are very common in winter near Yokohama, whence there are nine examples in the Pryer collection. It also occurs near Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 167), whence examples have been sent by Mr. Ringer to the Norwich Museum, and whence those erroneously recorded as Turdus naumanni in the Report of the Siebold Expedition were probably obtained (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 61). One of these examples was figured in 1831 under the name of Turdus eunomus (Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 514). The Dusky Ouzel breeds in Eastern Siberia, above the limit of forest-growth, and winters in South China as well as in Japan. It arrives in Yezzoi n great numbers soon after the middle of October (Blakiston, Ibis, 1862, p. 319), but a few stray birds occasionally migrate westwards, and occur during winter in various parts of Europe. TURDINA. 47 6. MERULA NAUMANNI. (RED-TAILED OUZEL.) Turdus nawmanni, Temminck, Man, d’Orn. i. p. 170 (1820). The Red-tailed Ouzel may be recognized by the pale chestnut on the inner webs of its tail-feathers, on the centres of the feathers of its breast and flanks, and on its axillaries and under tail-coverts. ‘The upper parts are nearly uniform olive-brown. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, ii. pl. 6 (male and female) ; Blakiston, Ibis, 1862, pl. 10. The Red-tailed Ouzel is a rare winter visitor to Japan. Dr. Hen- derson procured it at Hakodadiin October, 1857 (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 194) ; and in the Pryer collection there is one example obtained by Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi in March, and two examples from Yokohama. It has also occurred on the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 646). It breeds in Eastern Siberia, and winters in China as well as in Japan. To Europe it is only an accidental visitor. This species is almost as variable in the colour of the upper parts as Merula fuscata, and the distinguished naturalist who presided over the Museum at Warsaw, than whom no ornithologist had more opportunities of judging, was of opinion that they intergrade (Tac- zanowski, Journ. Orn. 1872, p. 437). The amount of rusty red on the upper parts and on the tail varies much; but the predominant colour of the upper parts is always olive and that of the breast rusty red in Merula naumanni, whilst the upper parts are always more or less russet-brown and the centres of the breast-feathers very dark brown in Merula fuscata. I have seen large series from China and Japan, but have never found them to intergrade, though they often approach each other. 7. MERULA PALLIDA. (PALE OUZEL.) Turdus pallidus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 815 (1788). The Pale Ouzel has a large patch of white on the tip of the outer tail-feathers, and pale grey axillaries, a combination found in no other 48 PASSERES. Japanese Thrush. It has no eye-stripe. The upper parts are very russet, and the breast and flanks are almost grey. Figures: Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 515 (male); Tem- minck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 26. The Pale Ouzel is principally known as a winter visitor to Japan, and is not uncommon in the bamboo-thickets near Yokohama (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 164). Itisa rare bird in Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 199), and there is no record of its having been found breeding in any of the Japanese islands. There are seven examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama; and Mr. Ringer has sent an example to the Norwich Museum obtained at Nagasaki, whence those figured in the ‘ Fauna Japonica’ as Turdus daulias were probably procured. There is an example in the Pryer collection obtained in the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands during January (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 174) ; and it has also been obtained in the southern group (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 405). The Pale Ouzel breeds in the valley of the Lower Amoor, and winters in South China and Formosa as well as in Japan. 8, MERULA CHRYSOLAUS. (BROWN JAPANESE OUZEL.) Turdus chrysolaus, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 5387 (1831). The Brown Japanese Ouzel has pale grey axillaries, rusty-red breast and flanks, no eye-stripe, very little white on the outer tail-feathers, and almost uniform brown upper parts, slightly suffused with russet. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 28 (male and female). The Brown Japanese Ouzel is a resident in all the Japanese islands. It is common in Yezzo, congregating in large flocks in winter (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 199). On the main island it breeds on Fuji-yama, and winters in the plains near Yokohama; but many of the young birds migrate in autumn to Formosa and South China, and it has once occurred in the Lower Amoor (Schrenck, Reis. und Forsch. im Amur- Lande, i. p. 852). I have two examples of the young in first plumage obtained by Mr. Jouy on Fuji-yama, and in the Pryer collec- tion there are fourteen adult birds from the Yokohama market (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 241). I have an example col- TURDINA. 49 lected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki; and Mr. Pryer has recorded it from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 174). Eggs of this species in the Pryer collection resemble finely streaked examples of those of the Blackbird. The nest is made of much coarser materials than that of Merula cardis, and is composed of twigs bound together with long fibres of grass. Itis placed in bushes. This bird is said to be asweet songster (Biakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 166). Dr. Stejneger has described what he supposes to be a new species of Thrush from the mountains north of Yokohama, under the name of Turdus jouyi (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p.4). Itis said to have a smaller bill, and to be more or less suffused with chestnut on the axillaries and under wing-coverts. The ex- amples obtained were a breeding pair, but both appear to have been in female plumage. They were probably birds of the previous year of Merula chrysolaus, possibly of alate brood, and more immature than usual. The colour of the axillaries is more liable to variation than that of some other parts. In Merula fuscata it varies from pale grey to deep chestnut, and in Merula cardis from slate-grey to orange- chestnut. I have five examples of Merula obscura in which the axillaries are suffused with buff; and there is an example of Merula chrysolaus itself in the Paris Museum, collected by Abbé Fauire near Hakodadi, in which the axillaries and under wing-coverts are con- siderably suffused with buff. 9. MERULA OBSCURA. (DUSKY OUZEL.) Turdus obscurus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 816 (1788). The Dusky Ouzel has pale grey axillaries and a white eye-stripe, a combination found in no other Japanese Thrush. The white patch at the tip of the outer tail-feathers is small, and the upper parts are clive-brown. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 27 (male adult and bird of the year); Dresser, Birds of Europe, ii. pl. 9 (male adult, and young in first plumage). The Dusky Ouzel is a very rare winter visitor to Japan. There are E 50 PASSERES. two examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 165); Mr. Jouy obtained examples (one of which I have in my collection) at Tate-yama, north of Yokohama, on the autumn migration (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p- 277) ; and there is an example in the British Museum, collected by Capt. St. John at Nagasaki. It has not been recorded from Yezzo. It breeds in Eastern Siberia, and winters in the Burma Peninsula and in the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Stragglers occasionally wander to Europe. 10. MERULA CELZNOPS. (SEVEN-ISLAND OUZEL.) Turdus celenops, Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 484. The male of the Seven-Island Ouzel has a black head and neck : the female resembles that of Merula chrysolaus, but the chestnut of the breast and flanks is much deeper in colour. The Seven-Island Ouzel was originally described from the island of Miaco-shima, one of the Seven Islands, about 50 miles from the mainland, and about 100 miles south of Yokohama. The types are in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, and there is askin of a male in the Pryer collection. It was afterwards procured by Mr. Holst on Fatsizio, an island about seventy miles further south, and a skin of afemale as well as of a male from that locality are in my collection (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 98). 11. ERITHACUS AKAHIGE. (JAPANESE ROBIN.) Sylvia akahige, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no, 571 (1835). The Japanese Robin has an orange-chestnut throat and tail. The lower breast and flanks are grey in the male, and brown in the female. ; Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 213 (male and female). The Japanese Robin is not known to have occurred in Yezzo in a TURDINA. 51 wild state *, but in Southern Japan it breeds on the mountains and winters in the plains. There is an example in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and I have four examples from Nagasaki, for which I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Ringer. It breeds on the Seven Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 486). L’Abbé David found it at Pekin in April, and at Fokienin November, so that it is probably a resident in North China as well as in Japan. 12, ERITHACUS NAMIYEI. (STEJNEGER’S ROBIN.) Teoturus namiyet, Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 645. The adult male of Stejneger’s Robin has the black chin and throat of Temminck’s Robin, but its under wing-coverts, flanks, and axil- laries are grey as in the female of that species. The female has a brownish-grey breast. Stejneger’s Robin was described by Dr. Stejneger from an adult male obtained by Mr. Namiye on the mountain of Nagoga- take in Okinawa Shima. There is an example (a female) in the Pryer collection from the same island, which differs from the female of Temminck’s Robin in various characters which are pointed out on the next page. No other examples are known. LHrithacus sibilans may be distinguished from both the Japanese species by its resem- blance to Erithacus akahige in the colour of its upper parts. The measurements of the two examples of Stejneger’s Robin are as follows :—Wing from carpal joint, g 2°85 inches, 9 2°75; tail, & 2:05, 9 1:8; exposed culmen, §°55, 9°5; tarsus, gf 1:15, ¢ 11; middle toe with claw, ¢'2, $°83; gradation of tail ¢:2, 9°15. Erithacus komadori, Erithacus akahige, Erithacus sibilans, Eritha- cus namiyei, and Erithacus rubecula, all belong to the same subgeneric group of the genus Erithacus. In the concavity of the wing, in the comparative length of the first and second primaries, in the feather- ing of the nostrils, and in the development of the rictal bristles they are almost identical. I cannot therefore admit the validity of {coturus (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 643) even as a subgenus. * I have an example collected by Mr. Henson at Hakodadi on the 28th of June. As its wings are very much abraded and its tail is in moult, I assume it to be an escaped cage-bird. E2 52 PASSERES. 18. ERITHACUS KOMADORI. (TEMMINCK’S ROBIN.) Sylvia komadori, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 570 (1835). Temminck’s Robin has a black chin and throat and black flanks in the adult male, and in both sexes the upper parts are orange- chestnut. The female has the feathers which are black in the male creamy white with grey margins. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 21 c. Temminck’s Robin was originally described from Japan, from examples procured by the Siebold Expedition ; but later ornitholo- gists asserted that it was only known as a cage- bird in that country, and that the Japanese imported it from the Corea (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 239); nevertheless, no collectors on that penin- sula have been able to discover it. Its home remained a mystery until it was brought from Yaye-yama Island in the southern group of the Loo-Choo chain (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 404). I have two fine males from Japan, but, like most cage-birds, the tips of the quills and tail-feathers are imperfect. It appears to be quite distinct from Erithacus namiyei. In the adult male the flanks are black instead of grey; the under wing- coverts are black margined with white, instead of grey margined with rufous, and the axillaries are white with dark centres instead of uniform grey. In the female the feathers of the throat and breast are creamy white margined with grey, instead of being uniform greyish brown, and the under tail-coverts are white instead of grey. Very little reliance can be placed upon the alleged structural differ- ences between the two species, unless a much larger series of é¢ach could be obtained, to correct the amount of individual variation that usually occurs. Itis, however, probable that Erithacus homadori has a slightly shorter tail, a slightly shorter tarsus, a slightly shorter bastard-primary, and a somewhat flatter and more pointed wing than Erithacus namiyei. 14, ERITHACUS CALLIOPE. (SIBERIAN RUBY-THROATED ROBIN.) Motacilla calliope, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 697 (1776). The male of the Siberian Ruby-throated Robin has a gorgeous TURDINA. 53 metallic ruby-coloured throat. The female is a plain brown bird like a Nightingale, with an olive-brown tail. Figures: Gould, Birds of Asia, iv. pl. 38. The Siberian Ruby-throated Robin is a summer visitor to the Kurile Islands (whence I have an example collected by Mr. Snow in June) and to Yezzo (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 182). There is a single example in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and Mr. Ringer obtained it near Nagasaki, where the examples procured by the Siebold Expedition were probably obtained (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 57). It has been recorded from the southern group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 406). This fine songster breeds in Siberia from the Ural Mountains to Kamtschatka, and winters in South China, the Philippine Islands, Burma, and India. 15. ERITHACUS CYANEUS. (SIBERIAN BLUE ROBIN.) Motacilla cyane, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 697 (1776). The male Siberian Blue Robin is blue above and white below. The female is olive-brown above, suffused with blue on the upper tail- coverts, and rufous-brown below. Figures: Radde, Reisen Siid. v. Ost-Sibir. ii. pl. 10. The Siberian Blue Robin is a summer visitor to Yezzo (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 182), but probably does not winter there. In the Pryer collection there are four males and a female from Fuji-yama, where it breeds (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 281). This species is a summer visitor to East Siberia from Lake Baikal to the mouth of the Amoor. It winters in China, Burma, North India, the Malay Peninsula, and Borneo. 16. MONTICOLA CYANUS. (BLUE ROCK-THRUSH.) Turdus cyanus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 296 (1766). The Eastern Blue Rock-Thrush with chestnut belly intergrades with the typical form, with the belly blue like the rest of the plumage, in 54 PASSERES. North-east China, and can only be regarded as subspecifically distinct from its western representative, though it has been described as Turdus solitarius (Miller, Natursyst. Suppl. p. 142) as long ago as 1776. The length of wing varies from 44 to 5 inches. Figures: Daubenton, Planches Enluminées, no. 636 (male), no. 564, fig. 2 (female). The eastern race of the Blue Rock-Thrush is a common summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands, and is occasionally seen in winter in Southern Japan (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 163). There are two examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 187-4, p. 157), and eight in the Pryer cal- lection from Yokohama. Mr. Ringer has obtained it at Nagasaki, where the examples procured by the Siebold Expedition, and recorded as Turdus manillensis, were probably obtained (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 67). It is very common on the Bonin Islands, whence I have a series in various stages of plumage collected by Mr. Holst (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 98). Capt. Rodgers procured it from the Loo-Choo Islands (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Philad- 1862, p. 314); and there are three examples in the Pryer collection from the same locality (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 174). The range of the Blue Rock-Thrush extends from Spain across Southern Europe and Central Asia to China. The eastern form breeds in Japan, im the valley of the Ussuri in. Eastern Siberia, and in Formosa, wintering in South-east China and the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Intermediate forms between the Eastern and Western races are very common in China, and an example in the Norwich Museum sent by Mr. Ringer from Nagasaki, as well as one in the British Museum, probably from the same locality, show traces of blue on many feathers of the belly apparently derived from a strain of Western bload. 17. CINCLUS PALLASI. (SIBERIAN BLACK-BELLIED DIPPER.) Cinelus pallasit, Temminck, Man. d’Orn. i. p. 177 (1820). The Siberian Black-bellied Dipper, like its Himalayan ally, is chocolate-brown above and below, but is darker and less rufous than that species. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 31 € (adult and young). TURDINA. 55 The Siberian Black-bellied Dipper is a common resident on. the mountain-streams of all the Japanese islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 239). There are two examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 449), and there are five examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. I have also an example from Nagasaki. The range of the Siberian Black-bellied Dipper extends northwards to Kamtschatka and the Aleutian Islands, westwards to Lake Baikal, and southwards to Central China. 18. ACCENTOR ALPINUS. (ALPINE ACCENTOR.) Motacilla alpina, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 804 (1788). The Japanese race of the Alpine Accentor has the throat white spotted with black; and the upper tail-coverts are chestnut with dark centres. Figures: Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, pl. 9; Gould, Birds of Asia, iv. pl. 43. The Japanese Alpine Accentor is not known to occur in Yezzo, but there are two examples in the Pryer collection from Fuji-yama. Dybowski procured it on a mountain near the southern shore of Lake Baikal ; Maack obtained it in the valley of the Amoor ; Midden- dorff found it on the southern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk; and Swinhoe described it from North China. I have examples collected by Prjevalski in Kansu, which are slightly chestnut on the upper tail-coverts and much streaked on the flanks, but in this respect they are intermediate between A. alpinus and A. erythropygius. The Japanese Alpine Accentor has been described as a distinct species under the latter name (Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 124), but can scarcely be regarded as more than subspecifically distinct, in which case it may be known as Accentor alpinus erythropygius. The Alpine Accentors appear completely to intergrade. Typical forms differ as follows :— alpinus . : f Vere tail-coverts grey. rufilatus . . Flanks uniform cvestnt nut. nipalensis . . Upper tail-coverts chest- erythropygius . 56 PASSERES. The most interesting fact concerning them is that the Japanese form resembles the European one in having the chestnut flank-feathers edged with grey, and appears to be connected with it by intermediate forms in South-east Mongolia. The habits of the Japanese Alpine Accentor resemble those of its European ally. It is described as flitting around on the rocks, uttering a low soft chuckling note, and as being very tame. It has. been found both on Fuji-yama and on Tate-yama (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 300). 19. ACCENTOR RUBIDUS. (JAPANESE HEDGE-SPARROW.) Accentor modularis rubidus, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 69 (1847). The Japanese Hedge-Sparrow has an unstreaked brown throat and breast. It is much more rufous than its British representative. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 32 (in very abraded plumage) ; Gould, Birds of Asia, iv. pl. 42 (in newly moulted plumage). The Japanese Hedge-Sparrow is peculiar to Japan. There are nine examples in the Pryer collection from the neighbourhood of Yokohama; and there are two examples in the British Museum col- lected by Mr. Whitely near Hakodadi in winter. It is therefore pro- bable that this species is a resident in all the Japanese islands. The examples figured in the ‘ Fauna Japonica’ without the broad chestnut stripes on the flanks are probably birds in abraded plumage. This bird ascends Fuji-yama in summer as high as 8000 feet, where it frequents the scrub willows, and has a sparrow-like chirping note (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 800). Eggs in the Pryer collection do not differ from those of its European ally. The nearest ally of the European Hedge-Sparrow (Accentor modu~ laris) and the Japanese Hedge-Sparrow (Accentor rubidus) is the Maronne-backed Hedge-Sparrow (Accentor immaculatus), a species which ranges from Nepal, through the Eastern Himalayas to Eastern Thibet and Setchuen in Western China. As is the case with several other species of European and Japanese or Chinese birds, the Central form appears to have changed more than the extreme Western and Eastern forms, probably in consequence of a greater change of climate. TURDINA. 57 20. PRATINCOLA MAURA. (SIBERIAN STONECHAT.) Motacilla maura, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, ii. p. 708 (1773). The Siberian Stonechat differs from its close ally in Western Europe in having the upper tail-coverts white without any dark streaks, and the axillaries black without any white tips. Figures: Gould, Birds of Asia, iv. pl. 34. The Siberian Stonechat is a common summer visitor to Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 197), and I have an example obtained by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands. In the Swinhoe collection there is a pair obtained by Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi in April; and in the Pryer collection there are five examples from Fuji-yama. I have also three examples collected in the latter locality by Mr. Heywood Jones; and it has been obtained by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki, where the examples procured by the Siebold Expedition, and recorded as Sazxicola rubicola, were probably obtained (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 58). This species breeds in Eastern Europe in the valley of the Petchora and eastwards across Siberia to Kamtschatka. It winters in India, Burma, and South China. The habits of the Siberian Stonechat are precisely the same as those of our Common Stonechat; but eggs in the Pryer collection from Japan, said to be those of this species, are not nearly so blue as British or Siberian examples. 21. RUTICILLA AUROREA. (DAURIAN REDSTART,) Motacilla aurorea, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 976 (1788). The Daurian Redstart has a white patch on the wing, caused by white bases to the secondaries and tertials. The male has a black back and throat, a chestnut breast and rump, and a grey crown and nape. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 21 b (male and female) ; David and Oustalet, Ois. Chine, pl. 26 (male). The Daurian Redstart is a resident on all the Japanese islands, breeding in the mountains and wintering in the plains, many doubt- 58 PASSERES, less migrating southwards in autumn (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 162). There are nine examples in the Pryer collection from the neighbourhood of Yokohama. In the British Museum is an example from Hakodadi, and Mr. Ringer has sent examples from Nagasaki to the Norwich Museum. The Daurian Redstart also breeds in South-east Siberia, East Mongolia, and North China. It winters in Formosa, South China, Hainan, and occasionally in Assam, the Malay Peninsula, Java, and Timor. It is generally found in low bushes or tangled thickets, and has a loud piping note (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 282). 22. TARSIGER CYANURUS. (SIBERIAN BLUE-TAIL.) Motacilla cyanurus, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, ii. p. 709 (1776). The male Siberian Blue-tail is blue above, with a white eye-stripe ; and white below with orange-chestnut flanks. The female is olive- brown above with no eye-stripe, and in addition to the orange flanks there is an obscure broad brown band across the breast. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 21 (male and female) ; David and Oustalet, Ois. Chine, pl. 28 (male). The Siberian Blue-tail is a summer visitor to Yezzo (Whitely, [bis, 1867, p. 197); but in the more southerly islands of Japan it is a resident, breeding on the mountains and wintering in the plains. There are twelve examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and Mr. Ringer has sent skins to the Norwich Museum obtained at Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 161). There is an example in the Pryer collection from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 174), and another in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington from the same locality (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 646). The range of the Siberian Blue-tail extends from the Ural Moun- tains, whence 1 have seen examples in the Moscow Museum, to Kamtschatka. It is a winter visitor to China and Formosa. I found this bird in the valley of the Yenesay as far north as the Arctic Circle, and Mr. Jouy describes it as one of the commonest birds in the mountains of Japan during summer, often the only one TURDINAE. 59 seen on some of the higher passes. It is very familiar in its ways and easily approached. Seated on a low branch of a tree or shrub, with its head on one side, it utters a low guttural chuckling note (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 281). Mr. Jouy procured examples of this species on Fuji-yama in June and on Tate-yama in December. at 23. NILTAVA CYANOMELENA. 7 (JAPANESE BLUE FLYCATCHER.) Muscicapa cyanomelana, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 470 (1829). The male Japanese Blue Flycatcher is blue on all the upper parts, black on the throat and breast, white on the rest of the under- parts and at the base of the tail. The female is a brown bird, with white belly and under tail-coverts, and a large pale patch on the throat. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 17 p (male), pl. 16 (female) ; David and Oustalet, Ois. Chine, pl. 81. The Japanese Blue Flycatcher is a summer visitor to all the Japa- nese islands. Ihave ten examples collected by Mr. Henson at Hako- dadi in May, and three collected by Mr. Heywood Jones on Fuji-yama in summer (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 180). There are eight examples in the Pryer collection from the latter locality, including a young male in first plumage collected by Mr. Jouy in July. In the British Museum there is a male collected by Mr. Whitely at Nagasaki, whence the examples figured in the‘ Fauna Japonica,’ the male as Muscicapa melanoleuca and the female as M. gularis, were probably also pro- cured. This handsome bird also breeds in Manchuria near the mouth of the Ussuri (Taczanowski, Journ. Orn. 1875, p. 251). It passes along the coast of China on migration to winter in Borneo. The Japanese Blue Flycatcher appears to be nearly allied to Niltava vivida from Formosa, which may be regarded as an island form of Niltava sundara. Neither of these species has any white on the tail, but both have the curious pale patch on the throat. It is common in the deep woods on Fuji-yama, breeding early in June, and being easily attracted by imitating its mellow whistling note (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 306). The female may always be distinguished from the other Japanese 60 PASSERES. Flycatchers by its large size (wing 34 inches or more), and by its large pale patch on the throat. Young in first plumage are, like young Thrushes, spotted with buff and barred with black on both the upper and under parts. 24. SIPHIA LUTEOLA. (MUGIMAKI FLYCATCHER.) Motacilla luteola, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 470 (1827). The male Mugimaki Flycatcher is slate-grey above, with a white eye-stripe, a white patch on the shoulder, and white at the base of most of the tail-feathers. The throat and breast are orange-chestnut, shading into white on the belly and under tail-coverts. In the female the slate-grey of the male is replaced by olive, but the white on the wings and tail remains. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 17 5 (male). The Mugimaki Flycatcher appears to be an accidental visitor to Japan on migration. The Siebold Expedition only obtained a soli- tary example, probably at Nagasaki; a single example is in the museum at Sapporo, in Yezzo (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 148) ; and a young male was obtained at Tate-yama, in the centre of the main island, in autumn (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 305). This species breeds in Eastern Siberia from Lake Baikal to the mouth of the Amoor, passes through China and Formosa on migra- tion, and winters in Borneo. The Mugimaki Flycatcher belongs to the genus Siphia, in which, although the sexes differ in colour, they agree in having the base of the tail more or less white and the upper tail-coverts nearly black. The genus was established in 1837 (Hodgson, Indian Review, i. p. 651), and Siphia strophiata is the type. It is the only Japanese Flycatcher which has white at the base of the tail in both sexes. The male of the Japanese Blue Flycatcher has white at the base of the tail, but neither sex has dark upper tail-coverts. TURDINA. 61 25. XANTHOPYGIA NARCISSINA. (NARCISSUS FLYCATCHER.) Muscicapa narcissina, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 577, fig. 1 (1835). The male Narcissus Flycatcher is orange on the rump and throat, shading into yellow on the centre of the breast, yellow on the super- cilium, white on the greater wing-coverts and under tail-coverts, and nearly black on the rest of the plumage. The female is olive above, shading into russet on the upper tail-coverts and tail, and greyish white below, suffused with yellow and brown in immature examples. 5 Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 17 ¢ (male), pl. 17 (female under the name of Muscicapa hylocharis). The Narcissus Flycatcher is a common summer visitor to Yezzo, but in the more southerly Japanese islands it breeds on the moun- tains and has been known to winter in the plains (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 2384). In the Pryer collection are sixteen examples from Fuji-yama and Yokohama; in the Swinhoe collection is an example from Hakodadi obtained by Captain Blakiston ; and I have an example from Nagasaki, for which I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Ringer. ; It is abundant on Fuji-yama in June and July, but is very shy in its habits, frequenting the deep woods (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 806). Its song is described as very sweet. The Narcissus Flycatcher breeds in South China as well as in Japan, and has occurred in the Philippine Islands in winter. The Narcissus and the Tricoloured Flycatchers appear to have no relations. The genus Xanthopygia was established for their recep- tion in 1847 (Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, xvi. p. 123), to which some other species have been referred on what appear to be insuffi- cient grounds. Xanthopygia tricolor has no claim to be regarded as a Japanese bird. It is not included in the ‘ Fauna Japonica,’ a fact which con- demns the stuffed specimen (a male) in the British Museum, which is labelled “ Japan, Leyden Museum; ” and there can be no doubt that the female figured in the ‘ Fauna Japonica’ as Muscicapa hylo- charis is an immature female of the Narcissus Flycatcher, and not, as has been suggested (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. iv. p. 250), of the Tricoloured Flycatcher. 62 PASSERES. 26. MUSCICAPA SIBIRICA. (SIBERIAN FLYCATCHER.) Muscicapa sibirica, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 936 (1788). The Siberian Flycatcher is a little brown bird, very closely allied to the Brown Flycatcher, but differing from it in being rather darker in colour, especially on the breast. It differs from the females of the two species of Xanthopygia in having no trace of green on the upper parts. Figures; Hume and Henderson, Lahore to Yarkand, pl. 4. The Siberian Flycatcher appears to be a common bird in Japan. Captain Blakiston sent me an example from Sapporo, in Yezzo, dated May 26, 1877; and in the Pryer collection are five adult birds and three young in first plumage from Fuji-yama, proving that it breeds in the main island. This species breeds in Dauria and the valley of the Amoor and also in the Himalayas. It passes through China on migration to winter in India, Burma, and the Malay Peninsula. The Siberian Flycatcher so closely resembles the Brown Fly- catcher that they are often confounded together. It is a slightly larger bird, the upper parts are brown instead of ashy brown, and the sides of the neck and breast are brown instead of pale brown. Young in first plumage are spotted and barred, both on the upper and under parts, like young Thrushes. 27. MUSCICAPA LATIROSTRIS. (BROWN FLYCATCHER.) Muscicapa latirostris, Raffles, Trans. Linn, Soc. xiii. p. 312 (1821). The Brown Flycatcher is a little grey bird, very closely allied to the Siberian Flycatcher, but differing from it in being rather paler in colour, especially on the breast. It differs from the females of the two species of Xanthopygia in having uo trace of green on the upper parts. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 15 ; Hume and Henderson, Lahore to Yarkand, pl. 5. The Brown Flycatcher is a common summer visitor to Yezzo and the Kurile Islands, and in the more southerly Japanese islands it is TURDINA 63 common during the breeding-season on the mountains. Dr. Hen- derson procured it at Hakodadi in October 1857 (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 194); and there is an example in the Swinhoe collection collected by Mr. Whitely in the same locality on the 24th of September, and another collected by Captain Blakiston in May (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 159). There are nine examples in the Pryer collection from Fuji-yama and Yokohama. The example figured in the ‘ Fauna Japonica’ as Muscicapa cinereo-alba was probably obtained at Nagasaki. The Brown Flycatcher breeds in the valley of the Yenesay and the valley of the Amoor, and probably in the Himalayas and the moun- tains of China. In winter it is found in India, Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Malacca. 28. TERPSIPHONE PRINCEPS. (JAPANESE PARADISE FLYCATCHER.) Muscipeta princeps, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 584 (1836). The adult male Paradise Flycatcher may be recognized by its long central tail-feathers (10 to 11 inches). The female looks like a Red-tailed Shrike with the head of a Flycatcher. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 17 £ (male and female). The Japanese Paradise Flycatcher is a common summer visitor to the southern islands of Japan, but is not known to migrate as far north as Yezzo. I have five examples procured on Fuji-yama by Mr. Heywood Jones, and there are five examples in the Pryer collection from the same locality and one from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands. Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer record its occurrence near Nagasaki, where the examples figured in the ‘Fauna Japonica’ as Muscipeta principalis were probably obtained. It passes along the coasts of South China on migration to winter in the Malay peninsula. It is very abundant around Fuji-yama in summer, and builds in the deep fork of a small tree, sometimes supported by the swaying branches of a Wisteria, eight or ten feet from the ground, and gene- rally near running water. The nest is made of dry grass, strips of bark, and fresh moss, lined with fine moss roots, and sometimes garnished with lichen or spiders’ webs (Jouy, Proc. United States 64: PASSERES. Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 804). Eggs in the Pryer collection resemble the rufous variety of the eggs of the Red-backed Shrike, but are not so round, The Paradise Flycatchers are an African genus of birds, no less than ten species being found in the Ethiopian Region. Two others are found in India, and the remaining two in China and Japan. They are very conspicuous objects, as they fly from bush to bush with their long tails streaming behind them. CRATEROPODIN. Sexes alike; young in first plumage only differing from that of the adult in being slightly paler; first primary generally rather more than half the length of the second; nostrils exposed. The range and number of species of the Crateropodinz are very difficult to determine, but they are represented in most of the tropical and subtropical parts of the Old World, including the Pacific Islands. Four species are found in Japan. 29. HYPSIPETES AMAUROTIS. (BROWN-EARED BULBUL.) Turdus amaurotis, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no, 497 (1830). The Brown-eared Bulbul is smaller than its close ally on the Loo- Choo Islands (wing from carpal joint 48 to 5:8), but scarcely differs in size from the Bonin-Island form. It differs from both in having no chestnut-brown on the throat, breast, or belly. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 31 3. The Brown-eared Bulbul may possibly be peculiar to Japan during the breeding-season. In Yezzo it is principally known as a summer visitor, but a few remain during winter. In Southern Japan it breeds on the mountains and winters in the plains (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 240). There are examples in the Swinhoe col- lection from Hakodadi and Nagasaki (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 158) ; and there are five examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and two from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands. It is pro- bable that some of the Yezzo birds migrate to the Loo-Choo Islands in autumn, returning northwards in spring (Stejneger, Zeitschr. ges. CRATEROPODINA. 65 Orn. 1887, p. 173). Others wander as far as the Corea, where they have been obtained in December, January, and February (Tacza- nowski, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1887, p. 603). The nest of the Brown-eared Bulbul is built in a bush, and made of twigs, moss, and coarse roots, lined with fine roots (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 163). Eggs in the Pryer collection are pinkish white spotted with reddish brown, and with lilac underlying markings; they resemble eggs of the European Blackbird in size, but in colour they scarcely differ from eggs of the Chinese and Indian Bulbuls belonging to the genus Pycnonotus. 30. HYPSIPETES SQUAMICEPS. (BONIN-ISLAND BULBUL.) Oriolus squamiceps, Kittlitz, Mém. prés. 4 l’Acad. Imp. des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg, par divers savans, 1830, p. 241. The Bonin-Island Bulbul is larger than its Japanese ally (wing from carpal joint 5°5 to 4'8), and is suffused with chestnut-brown, not only on the ear-coverts and flanks, but also on the throat and belly. Figures: Kittlitz, Kupfertafeln zur Naturgeschichte der Vogel, pl. 12. fig. 1, under the name of Galgulus amaurotis. This Bulbul is only known from the Bonin and the Loo-Choo Islands ; but inasmuch as examples from the latter locality are on an average smaller than the typical form from the former, they may be regarded as subspecifically distinct. The comparative measure- ments of the two races are as follows :— Bonin Islands. Loo-Choo Islands. Wing. . . . 5:45 to 4°85 4:9 to 4°46 Tail . . . . 5°05 to 4°45 4:6 to 4:0 Bil . . . . 05to °85 ‘9to °76 Tarsus. . . . 10 to ‘9 ‘9to ‘8 The measurements are in English inches; the wing is measured from the carpal joint, and the bill from the frontal feathers. The two races do not differ in colour. The typical form was discovered by Kittlitz in 1828, and was de- scribed by him in 1830 as an Oriolus. When he figured it in 1832, ¥ 66 PASSERES, he identified it with the Japanese species, but doubting Temminck’s assertion that it was a Turdus, he decided that it must be a Roller, and called it Galgulus amaurotis. Since that date the two species remained confused together until 1884, when the Bonin-Island Bulbul reappeared in ornithological literature under the name of Hypsipetes squamiceps (Meyer, Zeitschrift ges. Orn. i. p. 211). The Loo-Choo form appears completely to intergrade with the typical form, from which it may be distinguished as Hypsipetes squa- miceps pryeri. It was originally described from an example col- lected by Mr. Namiye on Okinawa-Shima, the largest of the middle group of the Luo-Choo Islands, under the name of Hypsipetes pryeri (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 642). Pryer described its attempts at song as an almost melodious connected whistle, whilst those of its Japanese ally are said to be most discordant (Stejneger, Zeitschrift ges. Orn. 1887, p. 173). There are two examples of the typical form from the Bonin Islands in the Pryer collection, and I have lately received twelve more from the same locality collected by Mr. Holst (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 98). There are seven examples in the Pryer collection of the race which inhabits the Loo-Choo Islands. 31. HAPALOPTERON FAMILIARE. (BONIN WHITE-EYED WARBLER.) Inos familiaris, Kittlitz, Mém. prés. 4 Acad. Imp. des Sciences de St. Péters- bourg, par divers savans, 1830, p. 235. , The Bonin White-eyed Warbler has a round wing with large first primary. Upper parts olive, underparts yellow, a ring of white feathers round the eye; lores yellow; forehead and superciliary stripe black ; ear-coverts black on anterior half, yellow on posterior half. Figures: Kittlitz, Mém. prés. 4 Acad. Imp. des Sciences de St. Pétersb. par divers savans, 1830, pl. 18. The Bonin White-eyed Warbler was discovered in 1828 by Kittlitz, and remained unknown until it was rediscovered in 1889 by Mr. Holst (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 100). The only record that I can find of any example having been seen between these dates is that of two live birds in the National Museum at Tokio (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 138, no. 1803). I have twelve CRATEROPODINA. 67 examples collected by Mr. Holst on the Parry Islands and on one of the Baily Islands. It is a Timeliine Warbler, probably allied to Stachyris. In 1848 it was doubtfully referred to the genus Jura (Gray, Genera of Birds, i. p- 199); but in 1854 the genus Apalopteron was invented for its reception (Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. xxxix. p. 59). 32. ZOSTEROPS PALPEBROSA. (INDIAN WHITE-EYE.) Zosterops palpebrosa, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 293, fig. 3 (1824). The Chinese form of the Indian White-eye is a little bird, not much larger than a Golden-crested Wren, with a white ring round its eye, olive above and white below, shading into pale grey on the flanks and breast, and into yellow on the throat and under tail- coverts. Figures : Gould, Birds of Asia, ii. pl. 34 (Chinese form). The Chinese White-eye is said to share with the Tree-Sparrow the honour of being the commonest bird in the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1888, p. 234). Its range extends to Formosa, South China, and Hainan. It is not nearly so yellow a green on the upper parts as the typical form, which inhabits India and Burma, but intermediate forms occasion- ally occur. The examples from the Loo-Choo Islands are rather large (wing from carpal joint 2°15 to 2°25 inches), and the bills are large (‘4 inches from frontal feathers); they closely resemble examples from the Eastern Himalayas, Andaman Islands, and the Nicobars, the Zoste- rops nicobarica of Blyth. The Chinese form has been named Zosterops simplex (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 831), and is fairly entitled to be regarded as sub- specifically distinct under the name of Zosterops palpebrosa simplex. Possibly the examples from the Loo-Choo Islands, which bave been named Zosterops loochooensis (Tristram, Ibis, 1889, p. 229), ought to be recognized as Zosterops palpebrosa nicobarica. 68 PASSERES. 33. ZOSTEROPS JAPONICA. ,. (JAPANESE WHITE-EYE.) Zosterops japonicus, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 57 (1847). The Japanese White-eye is easily distinguished from its Chinese ally by the colour of its breast and flanks, which are pale chestnut- brown instead of pale grey. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 22. The Japanese White-eye is a resident in all the Japanese Islands, and is peculiar to Japan. It is not very common in Yezzo, but was obtained at Hakodadi as long ago as 1853 by the Perry Expedition (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 221). There are eight examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and I have two examples collected by Mr. Heywood Jones on Fuji-yama. I have also three examples obtained by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki. The Japanese White-eye is so absolutely intermediate between the species which inhabits South China and that found in North China, that it is impossible to say to’ which it is most nearly allied. The latter species, Zosterops erythropleura, has once occurred in the valley of the Amoor ; the brown on its underparts is deepened into chestnut and restricted to the flanks. The nest of the Japanese White-eye is a beautiful structure com- posed entirely of moss, patched outside with large pieces of lichen, and lined inside with horse-hair. It is rather flat in shape, and is evidently a ground nest (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 288). Eggs in the Pryer collection are unspotted bluish white, of the dimensions of full-sized Willow-Warbler’s eggs. SYLVIINA. Sexes generally alike; young in first plumage (which is retained during the first winter) the same but brighter; first primary very variable, always present, but never as long as the second ; feathering of nostrils very variable. There are probably from 300 to 400 species that may be referred to this subfamily, which is nearly cosmopolitan. Fifteen species have occurred in Japan, SYLVIINA. 69 34, PHYLLOSCOPUS CORONATUS. (TEMMINCK’S CROWNED WILLOW-WARBLER.) Ficedula coronata, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 48 (1847), Temminck’s Crowned Willow-Warbler differs from the other Japanese Willow-Warblers in having a pale mesial line on the crown, and in having the under tail-coverts bright yellow, in strong contrast to the rest of the underparts, which are nearly white. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 18. Temminck’s Crowned Willow-Warbler is a very common summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands. Dr. Henderson obtained it at Hakodadi in October 1857 (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 193), and I have several examples from the same locality (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 197). There are thirteen examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and Mr. Jouy found it on Fuji- yama in July (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 282). Temminck’s Crowned Willow-Warbler breeds in Eastern Siberia as well as in Japan, and passes along the coasts of Formosa and China on migration, to winter in the islands of the Malay Archi- pelago. 35. PHYLLOSCOPUS BOREALIS. (ARCTIC WILLOW-WARBLER.) Phyllopneuste borealis, Blasius, Naumannia, 1858, p. 313. The Arctic Willow-Warbler differs from its Japanese allies in having a very small and pointed bastard primary, and in having the underparts nearly white, very slightly tinged with yellow on the breast and under tail-coverts. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, i. pl. 79. The Arctic Willow-Warbler passes the Japanese coasts in spring and summer on its migration from its breeding-grounds in Kamt- schatka to its winter-quarters. J have an example collected by Wossnesensky on the Kurile Islands, and it has been obtained in Yezzo, but appears to be rare (Blakiston, Am. List Birds of Japan, p. 56). There is an example in the Pryer collection from Yoko- hama; and there is one in the Leyden Museum from Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 159). The Arctic Willow-Warbler breeds in the Arctic Regions from 70 PASSERES. Finmark across Siberia to Alaska, and passes in great numbers on migration along the coasts of China and Formosa, to winter in the islands of the Malay Archipelago, the Burma peninsula, and the South Andaman Islands. 36. PHYLLOSCOPUS XANTHODRYAS. (SWINHOE’S WILLOW-WARBLER.) Phylloscopus canthodryas, Swinhoe, Proc, Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 296. Swinhoe’s Willow-Warbler differs from its Japanese allies in having all the underparts much suffused with yellow. The Japanese representative of the Arctic Willow- Warbler, better known as Swinhoe’s Willow-Warbler, breeds in the Kurile Islands, in Yezzo, and in the mountains of Southern Japan, migrating south- wards in autumn. I have an example collected by Wossnesensky on the Kurile Islands; there is an example in the British Museum obtained by Capt. St. John at Hakodadi (Seebohm, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. v. p. 43) ; and there are eleven examples in the Pryer collection from Fuji-yama. Swinhoe’s Willow-Warbler is only known to breed in Japan, where itis common. It passes the coast of China on migration and winters in Borneo. 37. PHYLLOSCOPUS TENELLIPES. (PALE-LEGGED WILLOW-WARBLER.) Phylloscopus tenellipes, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1860, p. 53. The Pale-legged Willow-Warbler has very pale legs and feet. It has two pale bars across the wing, and the 2nd primary is equal to or slightly longer than the 7th. Like most of its allies it is olive- brown above, but it differs from them in having the rump and upper tail-coverts russet-brown. There is an undoubted example of this species in the British Museum, which was formerly in the Tweeddale collection. It is sexed a female, and was procured by Mr. Henry Whitely at Hako- dadi on the 5th of May, 1865; and there is a second example in the Paris Museum, procured by l’Abbé Fauire in the same locality. The Pale-legged Willow-Warbler probably breeds in Japan and SYLVIINA. 71 China, The type was procured at Amoy during the autumn mi- gration and is in the Swinhoe collection. It has recently been obtained in North Fokien in May and October, and there are several skins in the British Museum obtained by Mr. Oates in its winter- quarters in the Burma peninsula. 38. ACROCEPHALUS ORIENTALIS. (CHINESE GREAT REED-WARBLEB.) Sahicaria turdina orientalis, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 50 (1847), The Chinese Great Reed-Warbler is a large bird, the length of wing varying from 8 to 84 inches. 5 Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 203. The Chinese Great Reed-Warbler is 2 common summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands wherever reed-beds are found. There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 153); whence an example had been procured by the Perry Expedition twenty years previously (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 221), and whence examples have been recently sent by Mr. Henson. There are five examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and both Mr. Heywood Jones and Mr. Jouy obtained it on Fuji-yama. The Chinese Great Reed-Warbler breeds in Eastern Siberia and North China as well as in Japan, and passes through South China on migration, to winter in the islands of the Malay Archipelago, the Burma peninsula, and the South Andaman Islands. 39. ACROCEPHALUS BISTRIGICEPS. (SCHRENCK’S REED-WARBLER.) Acrocephalus bistrigiceps, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1860, p. 51. Schrenck’s Reed-Warbler has a broad dark-brown band on each side of the crown, abruptly defined over the pale eye-stripe, but gradually fading into the plain brown of the top of the head. Figures: Schrenck, Reisen und Forsch. im Amur-Lande, i. pl. 12. fig. 4. 72 PASSERES. Schrenck’s Reed-Warbler is a common summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands. There are four examples in the Swinhoe collection obtained by Captain Blakiston in May and June at Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 154) ; and there are two examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. I have examples collected during the breeding-season on Fuji-yama by Mr. Heywood Jones in 1878 and by Mr. Jouy in 1882. Mr. Ringer has obtained it from Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 156) and kindly presented me with an example. Schrenck’s Reed- Warbler breeds in Eastern Siberia as well as in Japan, and passes along the coast of China on migration, to winter in the Burma peninsula. It is a rather shy bird, but is very common in the meadows round Fuji-yama in summer, the males mounting the tops of the long grass and disappearing on the other side (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 288). 40. LOCUSTELLA FASCIOLATA. (GRAY’S GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER.) Acrocephalus fasciolatus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1860, p. 349. Gray’s Grasshopper-Warbler has the upper parts nearly uniform in colour and is a large bird (wing from the carpal joint 2°9 to 3°2 inches). Figures: Seebohm, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. v. pl. 5 (adult and young). Gray’s Grasshopper- Warbler is a rare visitor on migration to the Japanese Islands. There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, p. 332) ; but it has not yet been recorded from Southern Japan. There can, however, be no reasonable doubt that it passes Hondo as well as Yezzo on migration. This species breeds near Lake Baikal and in the valley of the Amoor. It passes along the coasts of China and Japan on migration, to winter in the islands of the Malay Archipelago. SYLVIINE. 73 41. LOCUSTELLA OCHOTENSIS. (MIDDENDORFF’S GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER.) Sylvia (Locustella) ochotensis, Middendorff, Sibirische Reise, ii. p. 185 (1853). Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler has uniform upper parts; and the tail-feathers on the under surface become gradually nearly black towards the apex, and are finally tipped with greyish white. Figures : Middendorff, Sibirische Reise, ii. pl. 16. fig. 7 (bird of the year) ; Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, pl. 8. fig. 1 (young in first plumage). Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler probably breeds in the Kurile Islands. I have an example collected by Wossnesensky on Urup Island in 1844, and another sent me by Captain Blakiston from Ishurup (an island between Urup and Yezzo), shot on the 28th of June. There are four examples in the Pryer collection obtained by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands; and one (the type of Arundinaz blakistoni) in the Swinhoe collection (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, p. 332), a bird in first plumage obtained at Hakodadi in October. The type of Locustella subcerthiola (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 154) was also procured at Hakodadi, but it is not in the Swinhoe collection ; it appears to have been an adult bird of this species. A third example from Hakodadi is in the Philadelphia Museum (Seebohm, Ibis, 1880, p. 275), and is the type of Lusciniopsis japonica (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Se. Philad. 1858, p. 193). Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler breeds in Eastern Siberia as well as on the Kurile Islands, and passes along the coasts of China and Japan, to winter in the islands of the Malay Archipelago. 42, LOCUSTELLA LANCEOLATA. (TEMMINCK’S GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER.) Sylvia lanceolata, Temminck, Man. d’Orn. iv. p. 614 (1840). Temminck’s Grasshopper-Warbler has clearly defined streaks on the upper parts, but the tail-feathers are plain russet-brown, with no markings on either the upper or the under surface. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, ii. pl. 92. fig. 2. Temminck’s Grasshopper-Warbler is probably a rare visitor on migration to all the Japanese Islands. It was originally discovered in Japan, during the cruise of the ‘ Portsmouth,’ by Dr, Henderson at 7d, PASSERES. Hakodadi in October 1857, and described as a new species under the name of Lusciniopsis hendersonii (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 194). I have examined the type in the Philadelphia Museum ; it is streaked on the breast and lower throat, and slightly so on the under tail-coverts. There was an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 449), but it cannot now be found. This species breeds in Siberia and in North Russia as far west as St. Petersburg. It passes through China on migration, and winters in the Burma peninsula and the Andaman Islands. 43, CETTIA SQUAMICEPS. (SWINHOE’S BUSH-WARBLER.) Tribura squameiceps, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, p. 292. Swinhoe’s Bush-Warbler is a small bird, with the tail only about half as long as the wing. It has a very conspicuous pale stripe above the eye, and a dark stripe through the eye. Figures: Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, pl. 4. Swinhoe’s Bush-Warbler is a summer visitor to Japan. There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 155); and I have two examples collected by Mr. Henson from the same locality in May. There are four examples in the Pryer collection from Fuji-yama, where it is said to be rather rare (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 284). Swinhoe’s Bush-Warbler is probably confined to Japan during the breeding-season, and winters in Formosa and South China. It is represented in Eastern Siberia by a very nearly allied species, Cettia ussurianus, which only differs from its Japanese ally in having the upper parts olive-brown instead of chocolate-brown. 44, CETTIA CANTANS. (LARGE JAPANESE BUSH-WARBLER.) Salicaria cantans, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 51 (1847). The Large Japanese Bush-Warbler is dull olive-brown on the SYLVIINA. 75 upper parts, and greyish white on the underparts. It varies in length of wing from 2°8 to 2°5 inches. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 19. The Large Japanese Bush-Warbler is a summer visitor to Yezzo, but in Southern Japan it is a common resident (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan; 1882, p. 156). I have a female (wing from carpal joint 2°55 inches), collected at Hakodadi on the 19th of April, 1865 (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 197); and there are fourteen unsexed examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama (wing varying from 2°75 to 2°5 inches). I have a female collected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki (wing 2'5 inches) which is as russet as examples of Cettia minuta from Formosa, but the tail is longer than the wing. There are two examples in the Pryer collection from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (wing 2°7 inches), which are both typically olive in colour. The Large Japanese Bush-Warbler is only known from Japan and the Loo-Choo Islands, and is everywhere found in company with the Small Japanese Bush-Warbler, which I thought to be its female when I wrote the fifth volume of the ‘Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum.’ Since then further evidence has been collected, which, as far as it goes, leads to the conclusion that the two forms are distinct species. Mr. Jouy collected a series of these birds on Fuji-yama and on Tate-yama, and came to the conclusion that the large form is distinct from the smaller one, but unfortunately his evidence is rather meagre. Of the large form he enumerates 5 adult males and 1 adult female, whilst of the small form he only mentions 1 adult male and no females. He further states that the young in first plumage of the larger form have darker legs than those of the smaller form, but he is unable to detect any other difference in colour either in adult or young birds. The Japanese Bush-Warbler is a favourite cage-bird with the Japanese, who value it for its song, which is not extensive, though the few notes are sweet (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 237). I am informed that the Japanese do not recognize the existence of two species. In its habits it evidently resembles its European represen- tative, Cetti’s Warbler, being found along the banks of streams and in brush heaps. It utters a harsh scolding note when disturbed, and has a Wren-like habit of cocking its tail over its back (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 283). 76 PASSERES. Eggs of Cettia cantans from Yokohama in the Pryer collection are uniform brick-red in colour, and very closely resemble eggs of Cettia cetti from South Europe, of Cettia canturians from Lake Kiukiang in Central China, and of Cettia fortipes from India. 45. CETTIA CANTILLANS. (SMALL JAPANESE BUSH-WARBLER.) Salicaria cantillans, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 62 (1847). The Small Japanese Bush-Warbler differs from its larger ally only in size (wing from carpal joint 2°3 to 2°71 inches). Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 20. The Small Japanese Bush-Warbler is a summer visitor to Yezzo, but is a residentin Southern Japan. It is common in the plantations at Hakodadi (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 197) ; there are six examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and four from the central - group of the Loo-Choo Islands. It does not differ in colour from the larger species; and in both the tail, when in perfect condition, is slightly longer than the wing. It is somewhat remarkable that two species so nearly allied should have precisely the same geographical distribution, but this apparently anomalous fact is capable of explanation. The large species (wing 2°8 to 2°5 inches) is probably the result of an emigration to Yezzo of a party of Cettia canturians, which breeds in the valley of the Ussuri, the island of Askold, and North China, and winters in South China and Formosa. The Chinese Bush-Warbler is slightly larger than its Japanese ally (wing 3:1 to 2°8 inches) ; its tail is proportionately shorter, and its colour is more russet, especially on the crown. The small species (wing 2°3 to 2-1 inches) is probably the result of an emigration of a party of Cettia minuta, which reached Southern Japan vid Formosa and the Loo-Choo Islands. The Hainan Bush- Warbler is a resident in South China and Hainan, and is represented on the island of Formosa by intermediate forms (wing 2°56 to 2°35 inches) which intergrade in colour with both forms. To explain the present condition of these closely allied species, it is necessary to assume, first, that the two emigrating colonies increased and spread, the one northwards and the other southwards, until they both ranged SYLVIINA. 77 over the whole Japanese group; and secondly, that the effect of the changed climatic and other conditions was the same on each species, reducing the size, lengthening the tail, and altering the colour from russet to olive. 46. CETTIA DIPHONE. (BONIN BUSH-WARBLER.) Sylvia diphone, Kittlitz, Mém. prés, 4 Acad. Imp. des Sciences St. Pétersb. par divers savans, 1830, p. 237. The Bonin Bush-Warbler resembles the Small Japanese Bush- Warbler in colour ; butit differs from it in having a longer tail (2°56 to 2°46 instead of 2°3 to 2:1), a longer tarsus (‘98 to ‘93 instead of *9 to ‘89), and a longer bill (‘7 to ‘69 instead of ‘6 to ‘5 inches). Figures: Kittlitz, Mém. prés. & Acad. Imp. des Sci. St. Pétersb. par divers savans, 1830, pl. 14. The Bonin Bush-Warbler was discovered by Kittlitz in 1828, and remained almost unknown until it was rediscovered in 1889 by Mr. Holst (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 99). A mutilated example was pro- cured by Mr. N. Ota in February 1883 (Blakiston, Amended List of the Birds of Japan, p. 56, no. 2344), and there is an example in the Pryer collection probably from the same source. I have three examples from Peel Island, and two from one of the Parry Islands, collected by Mr. Holst. 47. CISTICOLA CISTICOLA. (FAN-TAILED WARBLER.) Sylvia cisticola, Temminck, Man. d’Orn. i. p. 228 (1820). The Fan-tailed Warbler has a large first primary, conspicuous streaks on the back, and pale tips to the tail-feathers. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 20c (summer plumage of Japanese race) ; Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 99 (winter plumage of typical race). The Fan-tailed Warbler is a resident in Southern Japan, but is not known to have occurred in Yezzo. There are a dozen examples in 78 PASSERES. the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and three from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands. Mr. Ringer obtained it at Naga- saki. It is very remarkable that of these fifteen skins, one only (from the Loo-Choo Islands) is a male in summer plumage, with unstriped crown. All the examples are large, varying in length of wing (from carpal jot) from 2 to 2°23 inches; and the example in summer plumage has a broad buff band across the tail (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 175). There is a male in summer plumage from the neighbourhood of Yokohama in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington ; and it has been obtained in the sonthern group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stej- neger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 408). This extreme form of the Eastern or tropical race of the Fantail Warbler has been called Salicaria (Cisticola) brunneiceps (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 134), and may possibly have a right to the name of Cisticola cisticola brunneiceps on account of its large size. The buff band across the tail appears to be character- istic of the summer plumage of the tropical form, which ranges through Formosa, South China, Burma, India, and Ceylon, to tropical Africa. Examples in the Swinhoe collection from Formosa vary in length of wing from 2°15 to 1°85 inches. The Eastern race appears to be entitled to the name of Cisticola cisticola cursitans, the latter name having been bestowed upon examples from the neigh- bourhood of Calcutta (Franklin, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1831, p. 118). Winter examples of the two forms are not easy to distinguish, but the Eastern form has on an average a shorter first primary and a longer second primary than its Western representative. In an example from Smyrna and one from Yokohama the wing is of the same length, 2 inches. In the Japanese example the first primary measures ‘45, the second is ‘9 longer, only :15 shorter than the longest, which is ‘3 inch longer than the tenth. In the Asia~Minor example the first primary measures ‘67, the second is ‘62 longer, ‘2 shorter than the longest, which is only ‘25 inch longer than the tenth. It must be admitted, however, that there is considerable individual variation in these structural characters, but on an average they appear to be sufficiently reliable to serve as a foundation for a subspecies. PARINE, 79 48. LUSCINIOLA PRYERI. (PRYER’S GRASS-WARBLER.) Megalurus pryeri, Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 40. Pryer’s Grass-Warbler has a plain and much graduated tail, a concave wing with a large first primary as in Cisticola, and streaked upper parts as in that genus, or as in a typical Locustella. Pryer’s Grass-Warbler does not appear to me to differ in any generic character from the other Grass-Warblers. It cannot be far removed from Lusciniola melanopogon or from Lusciniola luteiventris. Its tail consists of twelve feathers and is much graduated ; its wings are much concaved, and the first primary is very large ; its bill is small, and the rictal bristles are very small; its under tail-coverts are very long, but its tail is shorter than the wing. I only know of the existence of three skins of this species : the type and a second skin from the Pryer collection are in my possession ; the third skin is in the British Museum. All three were obtained by Mr. Pryer near Yokohama. The statement (Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 25) that Phylloscopus fuscatus is common in China, Formosa, and Japan is not confirmed by recent collectors. Ihave never seen a Japanese example of this species, but if it winters in Formosa (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1863, p. 806) it probably passes Japan on migration. PARINZ. Sexes alike; young in first plumage the same, but paler; first primary not more (generally much less) than half the length of the second; nostrils more or less concealed by feathers or hairs, but varying much in this respect. Scarcely worthy of separation from the Corvine. The Parine include the Tits, the Nuthatches, the Creepers, and the Goldcrests, and number about 125 species, of which eleven are represented in Japan. They are almost cosmopolitan, but are absent from South America, Madagascar, and the Pacific Islands. 80 PASSERES. 49. REGULUS CRISTATUS. (GOLDCREST.) Regulus cristatus, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 199 (1816). The Goldcrest is easily recognized by the yellow (female) or orange (male) mesial line on the crown. The Japanese race differs from its European ally in having the nape and upper back more or less suffused with slaty brown. Figures: Gould, Birds of Asia, vi. pl. 60 (very bad). The Goldcrest is a resident on all the Japanese Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 238). There are no examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi, but there are eight in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. It has been recorded from Kiu-siu (Soller, Arch. Miss. Scientifiques, 3rd series, xv. p. 277), where the examples obtained by the Siebold Expedition were probably procured (Tem- minck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 70). On Fuji-yama it breeds at an elevation of 7000 feet (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1888, p. 284). The breeding-range of the Goldcrest extends from the British Islands across Europe and Southern Siberia to the Himalayas, China, and Japan. Asiatic examples are greyer on the nape and on the upper back than European ones, and may fairly be re- garded as subspecifically distinct. The species has been split into three; but the supposed three forms appear to be merely three points in a series which completely intergrade. The typical form was described by Linneus from Europe. In 1856 the Japanese race was separated under the name of Regulus japonicus (Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. xlili. p. 767), and in 1863 the Himalayan race was separated under the name of Regulus himalayensis (Jerdon, Birds of India, ii. p. 206); but it is impossible to recognize three races. Examples from Asia Minor, Samarcand, the Himalayas, and Japan are scarcely distinguishable. The alleged difference in size and in the colour of the crown is a myth. Examples from St. Petersburg agree precisely with others from Western Europe. Possibly the wisest course is to coin a new trinomial for the eastern race of the Goldcrest, and call it Regulus cristatus orientalis. PARINE. 8} 50. PARUS PALUSTRIS. (MARSH-TIT.) Parus palustris, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 841 (1766). In the Marsh-Tits the black on the crown extends to the bill and covers the nape, and the black on the throat is very restricted. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pls. 108, 109. The Marsh-Tit is a resident on all the Japanese Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 150). It was first described as a Japanese bird from examples obtained by Dr. Hender- son, during the cruise of the ‘ Portsmouth,’ at Hakodadi in October 1857 (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 198). There are three examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi pro- cured by Captain Blakiston in winter (Swinhose, Ibis, 1874, p. 156) ; and Mr. Snow obtained it on the Kurile Islands. There are six examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and it is common in Central Hondo both in summer and winter (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 286). The range of the Marsh-Tit extends across the Palearctic Region from the British Islands to Japan, embracing a variety of climates, each of which possesses a more or less distinct race of Marsh-Tit. The two extremes appear to have become specifically distinct, as it is not known that either of them completely intergrades with the typical race. The Marsh-Tits of Kamtschatka have the upper parts sandy white, and the flanks pure white, and may be regarded as distinct under the name of Parus kamtschatkensis of Bonaparte. In Turkestan and Mongolia the other extreme, Parus songarus of Severtzow, occurs, with very brown upper parts and flanks. The other races of Marsh-Tit appear completely to intergrade and to be climatic rather than local races. Parus palustris baikalensis is the Arctic form with the widest range, extending from Archangel across Siberia to Vladivostok. The eastern examples are on an average slightly larger than the western, but they seem to have smaller bills. They are all very grey, and the black on the head is prolonged to the upper back. The two semi-arctic forms, Parus palustris borealis in Scandinavia, and Parus palustris japonicus (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p- 82) in Southern Japan, are almost identical in colour, but the latter are slightly more sandy brown on the upper parts and flanks. G 82 PASSERES. Examples from Yezzo may be on an average slightly more sandy than those from Southern Japan; and examples from St. Petersburg may be on an average slightly greyer than those from Southern Sweden. Examples from the Kurile Islands may be referred to Parus palustris japonicus or to Parus palustris baikalensis, according to the caprice of the collector, or according to the individual varia- tion of the skins. Examples from North China are indistinguishable from those obtained in Greece. They are browner than examples from Japan and Scandinavia, but they are more sandy and not quite so brown as those from the Pyrenees. British examples are on an average a shade browner still, but some examples from Denmark are quite as brown. 51, PARUS ATER. (COLE TIT.) Parus ater, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 841 (1766). In the Cole Tits the black on the crown extends to the bill, but there is a white patch on the nape; and the black on the throat extends downwards to the breast and sideways to the shoulders. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 107. fig. 3. The Cole Tit is a resident on all the Japanese Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 149). There are three examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 155), and there are nine examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. It is exceedingly abundant in winter in Central Hondo (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 285), and Mr. Pryer has recorded it from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 176). The breeding-range of the Cole Tit extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan. The typical form appears to range from the British Channel across Europe, and across Asia from the Arctic Circle to the southern slopes of the Himalayas, and through North China to Japan. It varies in three directions : in the blueness of the grey of the upper parts; in the pureness of the white on the breast ; and in the elongation of the feathers of the crown into a crest. PARINE. 83 Parus ater emodius has a decided crest, and is also darkest on the breast, which is sandy buff, but its back is not quite so brown as that of British examples. It inhabits the southern slopes of the Himalayas. It appears to lessen its crest and to become paler on the breast in China; and in Japan the crest is almost obsolete, the breast has become sandy white, and the grey on the back very blue. The same change takes place as it ranges westwards. Examples from the Thian-Shan mountains (the Parus picee of Severtzow) have small crests, the breast is very slightly buffer than in Japanese birds, and the grey on the back is almost as blue. In Russian Turkestan (Parus rufipectus of Severtzow) the crest is all but obsolete, the breast is a shade paler, but the colour of the back remains the same. Parus ater britannicus, from the British Islands, represents the extreme of brownness on the back, the entire absence of a crest, and the extreme of whiteness on the breast. The two latter characters are, however, common to examples from Europe and Western Siberia. Parus ater in its typical form ranges across continental Europe and Siberia, but in the eastern half of its range a tendency to develop a crest is more or less observable, and the breast is slightly sandy in colour. If Chinese examples be distinguished as Parus ater pekin- ensis, those from Japan must be described as intermediate between the Chinese and European forms. 52. PARUS ATRICEPS. (INDIAN GREAT TIT.) Parus atriceps, Horsfield, Trans. Linn, Soc, xiii. p. 160 (1820). The Manchurian race of the Indian Great Tit, like its British representative, has a black band down the underparts, and a green mantle, but its flanks are nearly white. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 33, under the name of Parus minor ; Gould, Birds of Asia, ii. pl. 56. The Manchurian race of the Indian Great Tit is a resident in Japan, whence it was originally described by Temminck and Schlegel from examples obtained by Dr. Siebold. It was first procured in Yezzo by Dr. Henderson, who found it abundant near Hakodadi in October (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 192); and there is an example in the Swinhoe collection obtained by Captain a2 84 PASSERES. Blakiston at Hakodadi in February (Swiuhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 156). There are examples in the Paris Museum procured at Aomori, in the north of Hondo, by Abbé Fauire; and there are five examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. There is an example in the Norwich Museum, collected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 151) ; and there are three examples in the Pryer collection from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 176). The latter are intermediate in colour between the Manchurian race of this species and the typical form. The Indian Great Tit, Parus atriceps, has a wide range. It is generally distributed throughout India from the Himalayas to Ceylon. Tt is also found in Burma, Sumaira, Java, Lombock, Flores, and Hainan. In South China as far north as Foo-chow it appears com- pletely to intergrade with the Manchurian Great Tit, Parus atriceps minor, which only differs from it in having the mantle suffused with yellowish green, instead of being pure slate-grey. These intermediate forms were called Parus commixtus by Swinhoe (Ibis, 1868, p. 63), and it is to this form that the examples in the Pryer collection from the Loo-Choo Islands belong. Parus atriceps also intergrades with a northern race which ranges from Afghanistan and Gilgit to Turkestan, South-western Siberia, and Western Mongolia, whence I have several examples collected by General Prjevalski in the oasis of the Urungu River. Parus atriceps boccharensis is a desert form: it is rather larger in size, a little paler in colour, and has a much longer tail than the typical form. All three forms differ from Parus major in having no trace of yellow on the underparts when adult; but esamples of young in first plumage in the Swinhoe collection from South-west Fokien are suffused with yellow on the underparts. The breeding-range of the Manchurian race of the Indian Great Tit extends from-Japan across China as far south as the valley of the Yangtse-kiang, as far west as East Mongolia (whence I have an example collected by General Prjevalski in Kansu), and as far north as the valley of the Ussuri (whence I have an example collected by Monsieur Jankoff). The Manchurian birds are probably migratory, as there are several examples in the Swinhoe collection obtained in winter at Amoy. The climatic variations of the Great Tit and its allies are very anomalous. Parus major,so common in the British Islands, appears PARINA. 85 to range across Europe and Southern Siberia as far as the Stanovoi Mountains on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, with little or no variation in colour. South of the Amoor the yellow suddenly dis- appears from the underparts, and in South China it gradually dis- appears from the mantle, leaving the Indian or tropical form white, black, and slate-grey (the usual characteristics of an Arctic race), to be suddenly represented in Persia by the species found in the British Islands. Neither in the east nor in the west does the Common Great Tit intergrade with the Indian Great Tit; and although the Japanese birds are intermediate in the colour of the upper parts, they are not in the least so as regards the colour of the underparts. The Loo- Choo Islands appear to have received their Great Tits from South China. The Japanese Great Tits may have come from the Corean Peninsula, since so far as is known there are no Great Tits in Sakhalien or in the valley of the Amoor north of its junction with the Ussuri. I can see no difference between examples from Yezzo and those from Yokohama. The probable explanation of this anomalous variation is that the Japanese birds are the modified descendants of Parus atriceps boc- charensis, which was differentiated as a desert form in Mongolia, and that the true tropical representative of Parus major is Parus monti- cola, which ranges from the Himalayas across Southern China to Formosa. The Manchurian Great Tit is described as the commonest Tit in Japan, abundant everywhere on the mountains in summer and very common in the plains in winter (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 286). 53. PARUS VARIUS*. (JAPANESE TIT.) Parus varius, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 71 (1847). * The name of Parus varius having been applied to the Parus americanus of Linneus (now known as Parula americana) as long ago as 1791 (Bartram, Trav. Florida, p. 292), will probably be rejected by the devotees of the Stricklandian code, who may, if they like, substitute for it the name of Parus sieboldi ; but I can see no reason whatever for abandoning the name already in use. 86 PASSERES. The Japanese Tit may always be recognized by its chestnut flanks and buff forehead. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 35. The Japanese Tit is supposed to be only a summer visitor to Yezzo, whence there is an example in the Swinhoe collection obtained by Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi in April (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 155); but it is a resident in Hondo, whence there are four examples from Yokohama in the Pryer collection. It has occurred in February in the Corean Peninsula, but it is not known whether it breeds there or not (Taczanowski, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1887, p. 604). It is a favourite cage-bird with the Japanese. Its note is described as resembling that of the Little Woodpecker. Like the other Tits it frequents the pines, but it is much less sociable and is generally seen alone or in pairs (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 287). The Japanese Tit is represented in Formosa by a smaller race, which is figured in Gould’s ‘ Birds of Asia,’ ii. pl. 49, and was originally described as Parus castaneiventris (Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 280). An example of the Formosan race of the Japanese Tit was collected by Mr. Namiye at Nagogatake, in the central group of the Loo- Choo Islands, on the 16th of March (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 650). The Formosan Tit is only known from three or four examples which vary slightly in size (wing from carpal joint 2°35 to 2°4 inches). The example obtained on the Loo-Choo Islands is rather larger (wing 2°64 inches), and it is probable that a larger series would bridge over the distance between it and the Japanese species, which is larger still (wing 2°8 to 3°] inches). The example from the Loo-Choo Islands is described as agreeing with the Formosan race in having less chestnut on the upper mantle, as being intermediate between the two in having indications of a creamy patch on the upper breast, and as agreeing with pale examples of the Japanese race in the colour of its flanks. The Formosan Tit and its close ally the Japanese Tit appear to have no near relations ; but it is possible that the latter is the Japanese re- presentative of the Blue Tit (Parus ceruleus), of which the Azure Tit (Parus cyanus) is the Siberian representative, and Parus ultramarinus the North-African representative. All these species, which appear PARINE. 87 to be quite distinct from each other, agree with the Japanese Tit in having white foreheads. It is possible, however, that the white forehead is not an important character, and that the affinities of the Japanese Tit may be with Parus rufonuchalis, Parus melanolo- phus, and Parus beavani. 54. ACREDULA CAUDATA. (CONTINENTAL LONG-TAILED TIT.) Parus caudatus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 342 (1766). The Continental Long-tailed Tit may be recognized by its long tail and white head and neck. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 104. The Continental Long-tailed Tit is a common resident in the island of Yezzo, but is not known to cross the Strait of Tsugaru to the more southerly islands. I have an example collected by Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi in February, and a second collected by Mr. Henson in the same locality on the 25th of October (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 156). The Continental Long-tailed Tit is only an occasional visitor to the British Islands, but its breeding-range extends across Europe and Southern Siberia to Japan. 55. ACREDULA TRIVIRGATA., (JAPANESE LONG-TAILED TIT.) Parus trivirgatus, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 71 (1847). The Japanese Long-tailed Tit has a black stripe on each side of the crown and on the lores. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 34; Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 103. The Japanese Long-tailed Tit is a resident in Southern Japan, breeding on the mountains and wintering in the plains (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 235). It is not known to have occurred in Yezzo, where its place is taken by the Continental Long-tailed Tit (Acredula caudata). There is a large series in the Pryer collection 88 PASSERES. from Yokohama, and Mr. Ringer has obtained it at Nagasaki, whence he has sent examples to the Norwich Museum. A single example has been recorded from the Corea (Taczanowski, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1887, p. 604), where it may possibly be only an occasional winter visitor. The supposed intergradation of Acredula caudata and Acredula rosea has frequently been recorded in Hesse (Berlepsch, Journ. Orn. 1880, p. 218) and other parts of West Germany (Tauber, Journ. Orn. 1880, p. 421); but it has not been suggested that Acredula caudata intergrades with Acredula trivirgata. On the other hand, the dark markings on the lores are often found in British examples, and are often very obscure in Japanese examples, so that Acredula rosea and Acredula trivirgata may possibly intergrade. In Central Siberia there is so much white on the tertials and on the outer webs of the secondaries, and the length of the tail is so great, that it is difficult to avoid recognizing an Acredula caudata sibirica, 56. HGITHALUS CONSOBRINUS. (SWINHOEF’S PENDULINE TIT.) Higithalus consobrinus, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 183. Swinhoe’s Penduline Tit has a grey crown, with a rufous band round the nape and a black band across the forehead, which extends through the eye and across the ear-coverts. Figures : Gould, Birds of Asia, ii. pl. 70. Swinhoe’s Penduline Tit is a resident at Nagasaki, whence I have seen two males and two females collected by Mr. Ringer. I am indebted to Captain Blakiston for having one of the former in my collection (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 37), and to Mr. Ringer for one of the latter. The type from Central China is also in the Swinhoe collection. Having seen five examples of this rare bird, it appears to me impossible not to recognize its apparent distinctness, a con- clusion to which Dr. Stejneger has also arrived (Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 389). It is, however, very probable that it may eventually be proved to be the female of the western species, or be degraded to subspecific rank. The great variability of this species and the close resemblance of PARINE. 89 the alleged males from China and Japan with the females of the European species, and the fact that the alleged females of the Japanese birds are apparently immature, are all arguments against the validity of the species. The characters relied upon are the smallness of the ear-patch (which agrees with that of the typical female), the much narrower black frontal band (which is not narrower than usual in my skins from China), the absence of the chestnut on the forehead (which is scarcely perceptible in an example from Asia Minor), the white eye-stripe (which may be a good character), the buff throat (which is white in the typical form), and the absence of the concealed chestnut bases of the breast-feathers (which has every appearance of being a really good character). 57. TROGLODYTES FUMIGATUS. (JAPANESE WREN.) Troglodytes fumigatus, Temminck, Man. d’Om, iii. p. 161 (18365). The Japanese Wren principally differs from the Common Wren in the colour of the underparts, which is darker and more rufous than that of the underparts of the western species. Figures: Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. vi. pl. 16. fig. 2. The Japanese Wren is a resident in all the Japanese Islands. Captain Blakiston has sent examples from Yezzo (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 152); there are twelve in the Pryer collection from Yoko- hama; I have one collected by Mr. Heywood Jones on Fuji-yama in summer, and three collected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki in winter, where it was also procured by the Siebold Expedition (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 69). It is common in Central Hondo, near the peaks of the high moun- tains in summer, and frequents bushes near streams in the lowlands in winter. Its song is described as low, delicious, and warbling, exactly like that of the American Winter Wren (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 287). The Japanese representative of the Common Wren is on an average a paler and more rufous form than the Himalayan race, but the darkest example from Nagasaki is scarcely distinguishable from the palest from Sikkim, both dated January. 90 PASSERES. In the colour of the upper parts the various species of Wrens com- pletely intergrade. It is impossible to draw a line anywhere between the palest desert forms from Algeria or Turkestan, and the darkest tropical forms from Cashmere and Sikkim. The barring is on an average most conspicuous in the tropical form, but examples showing the extreme amount of barring occur in France, Norway, Mongolia, and other localities. In the colour of the underparts it seems possible to draw a line, which may bea natural one. Troglodytes parvulus and its subspecific allies form a pale group, which range across Europe to Algeria in the south and to Russian Turkestan in the east; whilst Troglodytes fumigatus and its subspecific allies form a dark group, which range from Japan across Asia to the Himalayas and the Altai Mountains. On Bering Island a pale form occurs, Troglodytes fumigatus pallescens, which probably came from Alaska. The underparts are generally much more barred in the dark species than in the pale one, but the amount of individual variation in this respect is very great. The variations in the size of the bill and feet are considerable, but no genetic value can be attached to them. The large bill and feet characteristic of the races of St. Kilda, the Faroe Islands, Bering Island, and the Kuriles have probably each been independently acquired. The Kurile Island race of the Common Wren is remarkable for its long bill, the exposed culmen measuring °55 inch (14 millimetres), a length exceeding that of the Faroese Wren and equalling that of the Commander Island Wren. The length of the hind toe, ‘4 inch (10 millimetres), or with the claw ‘6 inch (153 millimetres), agrees with that of the Commander Island Wren and that of the St. Kilda Wren, but exceeds that of the European Wren and that of the Japanese Wren. In colour it agrees with the least rufous of the Japanese Wrens, but is much less rufous than the ordinary type of that race, and much more rufous than the Commander Island Wren. It is more rufous than typical examples from Europe, but scarcely differs in colour from an example collected by General Prjevalski in the Chuan-Che range of mountains in Mongolia. The bars on the upper parts are not quite obsolete on the mantle, and on the breast are well marked, but this is probably only a sign of summer plumage. I have two examples collected by Mr. Snow in June on Uschisir, one of the small central islands of the Kurile range, and Dr. Stej- PARIN AL, 91 neger has described a third, to which he has given the name of Troglodytes fumigatus kurilensis (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1888, p. 548), a name which I had already given it in manu- script. 58. CERTHIA FAMILIARIS. (COMMON CREEPER.) Typrcay Form. Certhia familiaris, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 184 (1766). Arctic Form, Certhia scandulaca, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 482 (1826), The Creeper has a curved bill like a Hoopoe, and stiff pointed tail- feathers like a Woodpecker. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 122 (typical form). The Creeper is common in the woods and plantations near Hako- dadi (Whitely, Ibis, 1862, p. 196), and appears to be a resident on the Kuriles, as well as in the other Japanese Islands. Ihave an example collected by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands, and there is an example in the Swinhoe collection obtained by Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi in February (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p.152). I have also two examples collected by Mr. Henson at Hakodadi on the 13th of April, and there is an example in the Pryer collection from Yoko- hama. The Common Creeper is one of those unsatisfactory birds that seem to vary with every variation of climate; so that the ornithologist is obliged either to become a “ lumper ”’ of the old school of binomia- lists, and confuse all the races together under the name of Certhia familiaris, or to become a “ splitter ” of the new school of trinomia- lists, and give to each geographical race a third name, until he has made so many that he is frightened at the ever-increasing number. Examples from Central Siberia are so much whiter than the typical European form that it is impossible not to allow Certhia familiaris scandulaca subspecific rank. Examples from Yokohama agree very closely with those from North China, Kansu, the Chuan-Che mountains, and Asia Minor. They are too white to be regarded as belonging to the typical form, but they are not white enough to belong to the Arctic race. Examples from the Kurile Islands aud from Yezzo are quite as 92 PASSERES. difficult to place. They agree very closely with examples from the Amoor, and are distinctly whiter than those from Southern Japan ; but they are not so white as examples from Central Siberia. The Common Creeper is a circumpolar species, and its range extends across North America, where it seems to be subject to the same climatic variation. Tropical forms occur in the Himalayas and in Mexico. 59. SITTA CHSIA*, (NUTHATCH.) TyricaL Form. Sitta cesia, Wolf, Taschenbuch, i. p. 128 (1810). Arctic Form. Sttta uralensis, Lichtenstein, Gloger’s Handb. Vég. Deutschl. pp. 377, 388 (1834). Eastern SEmi1-aRctTic Form. Sitta amurensis, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 350. KAMTSCHATKAN Form. Sttia albifrons, Taczanowski, Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 1882, p. 385. The Nuthatch has the bill of a Woodpecker with the tail of a Tit. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 119 (typical form), pl. 118 (Arctic form, but feet coloured wrong). The Nuthatch is a resident in all the Japanese Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 236). I have an example collected by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands. Dr. Henderson obtained it at Hakodadi in October 1857 (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 1858, p. 195) ; and there are two examples in the Swinhoe collection from Yezzo (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 152). There are seven examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The range of the Nuthatch extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan and China. The local races of the Common Nuthatch are the despair of the ornithological nomenclator. Sitta cesia, a smallish bird (wing 3°15 to 3°83 in.), with chestnut breast, in the British Islands and Western Europe, intergrades with Sitta cesia homeyeri in Pomerania, the Baltic Provinces of Russia, * According to the law of priority Sitta europea ought to be accepted as the typical form, but to avoid the absurdity of calling a Japanese bird Sitta europea uralensis, it is necessary to make Sitta cesia the typical form. To do otherwise would be misleading. CORVINA, 93 Poland, and the Crimea, which in turn intergrades on the one hand with Sitta cesia europea in Scandinavia, a slightly larger bird (wing 3°35 to 3°5 in.) with nearly white breast ; and on the other with Sitta cesia uralensis in Northern Siberia, a small bird (wing 2-9 to 3:2 in.) with pure white underparts, which intergrades on the one hand with Sitta cesia albifrons in Kamtschatka; a small bird, with the head and nape slightly paler, the forehead white, and the greater wing- coverts tipped with white. On the other hand it intergrades with Sitta cesia amurensis, which only differs from Sitta cesia homeyeri in having the smaller dimensions of Sitta cesia uralensis. This race inhabits the valley of the Amoor, Manchuria, and Southern Japan, and doubtless intergrades with Sitia cesia sinensis in China and Eastern Thibet, a race which only differs from the typical form in being slightly smaller (wing 2°9 to 3-0 in.). The Nuthatches from Southern Japan have the throat and upper breast white, and the lower breast and belly pale chestnut, and may be regarded as Sitta cesia amurensis. Those from Yezzo are intermediate between Sitta cesia uralensis and Sitta cesia albifrons, but are so near to the former that they may be reasonably included in that race, though Dr. Stejneger has called them Sitta amurensis clara (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 393). Those from the Kurile Islands are also intermediate between Sitta cesta uraleneis and Sitta cesia albifrons, but are so near the latter that even Dr. Stejneger has not thought it necessary to create a new subspecies for their reception. CORVIN A. Sexes alike; young in first plumage the same, but paler; first primary more than half the length of the second; nostrils concealed by feathers. Very doubtfully distinct from the Parinz. The Corvine scarcely number 200 species, of which 12 occur in Japan. The subfamily may be regarded as cosmopolitan. 94, PASSERES. 60. CORVUS CORAX. (RAVEN.) Corvus corax, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 155 (1766). The Raven is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 193 to 16 inches) with a very thick bill. The feathers of the mantle resemble those of the Carrion-Crow in being glossed with greenish purple and in having nearly white bases. The feathers of the upper breast as well as those of the throat are lanceolate. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 265. fig. 1. The Raven breeds in the Kurile Islands, where its presence was long ago recorded (Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 880), but it is not known to have occurred in Japan proper. I have an example which Captain Blakiston sent me (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 31), and there is a second in the Pryer collection, both obtained by Mr. Snow in the Kurile Islands. The Raven is a circumpolar species, inhabiting the whole of the Palearctic and Nearctic Regions, except Japan, where its place appears to be taken by Corvus macrorhynchus, the Raven of the Oriental Region. The Raven from the Commander Islands has been described by Dr. Dybowski and by Dr. Stejneger as a distinct species, on the ground of a difference in the wing-formula. An example from the Kurile Islands and four examples from the valley of the Yenesay agree in having the 4th primary the longest, the 3rd a little shorter, and the 5th a trifle shorter still; whilst the lst primary is between the 7th and 8th. This agrees with European examples. 61. CORVUS MACRORHYNCHUS. (ORIENTAL RAVEN.) Corvus macrorhynchus, Wagler, Systema Avium, p. 311 (1827). The Japanese race of the Oriental Raven is intermediate in size, and in some other characters, between the Common Raven and the Common Crow (wing from carpal joint 144 to 134 inches) ; but its bill is as thick as that of the Common Raven (upper mandible at nostrils *8 inch high). The feathers of the mantle differ from both these species in having a greener gloss and much darker bases. CORVINA 95 The feathers of the throat are lanceolate, but not those of the upper breast. . ' Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 39 . The Japanese Raven is a resident on all the Japanese Islands, and is the common Crow of Japan. I have examples collected by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands. In the Swinhoe collection is an example collected by Mr. Whitely at Hakodadi (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 200) ; and in the Pryer collection there are several examples from Yokohama. In the British Museum there is an example from Nagasaki; and in the Pryer collection there is one from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands. Mr. Holst procured it on the Bonin Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 97). It is said to be more of a maritime species than the Carrion-Crow, and to have much harsher and more varied notes (Jouy, Proce. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 302). The Oriental Raven represents the Common Raven in India, Ceylon, the Burma peninsula, the islands of the Malay Archi- pelago, South China, and Japan; but in North China, the Kurile Islands, and in Eastern Siberia both species occur, the Japanese race of the Oriental Raven being found in company with the Common Raven. The typical form of the Oriental Raven (often called the Indian Jungle-Crow) is on an average smaller than its Siberian and Japanese ally (wing 13} to 114 inches), and becomes smaller still in Ceylon (wing 121 to 10% inches). Examples from Siberia, Japan, China, and Ceylon are supposed always to have dark grey bases to the feathers of the back ; those from the islands of the Malay Archipelago are supposed to have nearly white bases to these feathers; but Mr. Hume has conclusively shown (Stray Feathers, 1877, p. 461) that both forms are found in India. Corvus japonensis (Bonaparte, Consp. Generum Avium, i. p. 386) was described in 1850 from Japan, but it appears to be only a subspecific form of the Indian Jungle-Crow, and may therefore be called Corvus macrorhynchus japonensis. The example from the Loo-Choo Islands is smaller (wing 12} inches) and has a more slender bill (height of upper mandible at centre of nostrils ‘5 inch), and agrees exactly with the type in the Swinhoe collection of Corvus colonorum from Formosa, Intermediate forms (wing 134 ; upper mandible ‘55 inch) occur near Yokohama, so that the Loo- Choo race, if it be regarded as separable, must be known as Corvus macrorhynchus levaillanti (Lesson, Traité d’Orn. p. 328), a name dating from 1831, whereas Swinhoe’s name only dates from 1864. 96 PASSERES. 62. CORVUS CORONE. (CARRION-CROW.) Corvus corone, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 155 (1766). The Carrion-Crow is almost as large as the Japanese Raven (wing from carpal joint 14 to 123 inches), but it has a very much slenderer bill. The feathers of the mantle are glossed with greenish purple and have pale grey bases. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 263. fig. 1. The Carrion-Crow is a resident in all the Japanese Islands, but is not so abundant as its thicker-billed ally. I have three examples collected by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands. In the Swinhoe collection there are two examples from Hakodadi, one collected by Captain Blakiston (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 159) and the other by Mr. Whitely ; and in the Pryer collection there are three examples from Yokohama. Mr. Ringer has procured it at Nagasaki, where the examples obtained by the Siebold Expedition were doubtless procured (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 79). The range of the Carrion-Crow extends westward from Japan across Siberia as far as the valley of the Yenesay; thence it con- tinues along the mountains of Southern Siberia across Turkestan, the Caucasus, and the valley of the Danube into Europe, west of the Elbe, as far south as Spain, and as far north as the British Islands. The Carrion-Crow of East Asia has been separated from that of Europe by Eversmanu, Dybowski, and others, on the ground of its larger size, more rounded tail, and more brilliant plumage. Examples from Japan vary in length of wing from carpal joint from 12} to 14 inches; the outer tail-feathers are from }$ to 1 inch shorter than the longest, and the gloss of the back looks green when contrasted with that of the Rook, and purple when contrasted with that of the Japanese Raven. It can scarcely be regarded even as subspecifically distinct. The attempt to place the Raven, Crow, Jackdaw, and Rook each in a separate genus has been almost universally abandoned, much to the credit of ornithologists, and greatly to the advantage of ornithology, which has been exposed to much well-deserved derision from the invention of so many pseudo-genera. CORVINA. 97 63. CORVUS DAURICUS. (PALLAS’S JACKDAW.) Corvus dauuricus, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 694 (1776). Pallas’s Jackdaw is about the size of its British representative (wing 93 to 9 inches), but it has a white collar round the neck; the breast, belly, and flanks are white, and the bases of the feathers of the mantle are dark grey. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 41. Pallas’s Jackdaw appears to be a rare bird in Japan, and is confined (so far as is known) to the extreme south. I have never seen a Japanese example except those obtained by Dr. Siebold, probably near Nagasaki, and now in the Leyden Museum. It is said to have occurred near Yokohama (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 232). The range of Pallas’s Jackdaw extends from Eastern Siberia to North China and Eastern Mongolia. 64. CORVUS NEGLECTUS. (SWINHOEP’S JACKDAW.) Corvus neglectus, Schlegel, Bijdr. Dierk. Amsterd., fol., art. Corvus, p. 16. Swinhoe’s Jackdaw very closely resembles its British represen- tative, but its belly is dark grey instead of greyish black, and the first eight secondaries are nearly equal in length. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 40. Swinhoe’s Jackdaw is a rare bird in collections. The only examples which I have seen from Japan are the types obtained by Dr. Siebold, presumably near Nagasaki, and now in the Leyden Museum, and an example from Osaka in the extreme south of Hondo, and now in the Hakodadi Musenm (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 143). The latter specimen is paler on the underparts than typical examples in the Swinhoe collection from China, and resembles an example in the same collection from Shanghai, which Swinhoe regarded as a hybrid between Corvus dauricus and Corvus neglectus (Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 388). The range of Swinhoe’s Jackdaw extends from Eastern Siberia to North China. H 98 PASSERES. 65. CORVUS PASTINATOR. (EASTERN ROOK.) Corvus pastinator, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1845, p. 1. The Eastern Rook is slightly smaller than the Common Crow (wing from carpal joint 122 to 114 inches), and its bill is quite as slender. The feathers of the mantle are glossed with greenish purple, and have dark-grey bases. In adult examples the forehead and lores are bare of feathers. The Eastern Rook is a resident in Southern Japan, but has not been known to have occurred in Yezzo. Captain Blakiston sent me an example from Yokohama for examination (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 81); and there is an example in the British Museum collected by Captain St. John at Nagasaki, where those procured by Dr. Siebold, and erroneously recorded as Corvus frugilegus, were probably obtained (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 79). The range of the Eastern Rook extends from Irkutsk, across South-eastern Siberia, to North China and Japan. It is not known that either species occurs in the valley of the Western Yenesay or in that of the Obb, but the range of the European Rook extends east- wards to the valley of the Irtisch. The Rooks appear to be much less hardy than the Crows, as their range does not extend nearly so far north; but if we may judge from the bareness of their nostrils, their food is much more exclu- sively obtained in the ground, and they are consequently soon starved out by a frost. As the mean temperature of January in Hakodadi is seven degrees below freezing-point, whilst in Yokohama it is seven degrees above it, there is no difficulty in explaining why the Eastern Rook is not a resident in Yezzo. The Western Rook, Corvus frugilegus, agrees with the Eastern Rook, and differs from the Common Crow, in having dark bases to the feathers of the mantle. The Western Rook when adult has the throat, as well as the forehead and lores, bare of feathers, which is never the case with its Eastern ally. All three species differ in the colour of the head—in Corvus frugilegus the purple of the crown is glossed with blue, in Corvus pastinator with red, and in Corvus corone with green. CORVINE. 99 66. NUCIFRAGA CARYOCATACTES. (NUTCRACKER. ) Corvus caryocatactes, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 157 (1766). The Nutcracker is a well-known bird, about the size of a Jay, dark brown, spotted with white. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 252. The Nutcracker is a resident in Japan, both in Yezzo (Blakiston, Ibis, 1862, p. 326) and on the mountains of Southern Japan. There are six examples in the Pryer collection from Fuji-yama, where they occur at an elevation of about 5000 feet, descending nearer the plains in winter (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 302). The Nutcracker is an occasional visitor to the British Islands, and its breeding-range extends across Europe and Siberia to Japan. In Siberia the white spots, both on the upper and under parts and on the ends of the tail-feathers, are much more developed than they are in Europe and somewhat more so than they are in Japan. In Siberian examples the bill is much slenderer than in European and Japanese examples, and consequently they have been called Nuci- fraga caryocatactes leptorhynchus (Seebohm, Ibis, 1888, p. 236). 67. CYANOPOLIUS CYANUS. (EASTERN BLUE MAGPIE.) Corvus cyanus, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 694 (1776). The Eastern Blue Magpie is much smaller than the Common Magpie (wing from carpal joint 53 to 53 inches). The head is black above, the body grey above and nearly white below, and the tail and most of the wing are azure blue. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 42. The Eastern Blue Magpie is a resident in Southern Japan. There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Yokohama (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, p. 145) ; and there are four examples in the Pryer col- lection from the same locality. It is rather remarkable that it has not been recorded from Yezzo, as it is common in the valley of the Amoor and in North China.. The Spanish Blue Magpie, Cyanopolius cooki, is so closcly allicd H 2 100 PASSERES. to the Eastern Blue Magpie, that it is doubtful whether they are more than subspecifically distinct. The-Spanish bird is browner, and the white tips to the central tail-feathers only occur accidentally. It has also been recorded from Morocco. It has no other nearer ally than the species belonging to the genera Pica and Urocissa. The Spanish Blue Magpie was unknown to Temminck in 1820, but is included in the third volume of his ‘ Manuel d’Ornithologie’ pub- lished in 1835, having been mentioned in 1827 in Wagler’s ‘Systema Avium’ from an example in the Paris Museum. That the area of distribution of these two species was once continuous is a self- evident proposition. That the range of the Blue Magpie once extended from Spain to Japan, but that the species has been exterminated in the rest of Southern Europe and in Western Siberia, is a possible but highly improbable hypothesis. That once upon a time there was an emigration of Blue Magpies from Eastern Siberia to Western Europe, as there has been twice within the present century of Sand-Grouse, is a much more probable theory; but the most probable explanation of this anomalous fact of geographical distribution is the obvious one that the Chinese Blue Magpie was brought from China to Spain, precisely in the same manner as the Chinese Ringed Pheasant was introduced into England. It has probably become browner since its introduction in consequence of the greater rainfall of Spain, and it may have lost the white tips to the centre tail-feathers by protective selection. The young in first plumage of the Japanese Blue Magpie have not only all the tail- feathers but also the ¢ertials tipped with white. 68. GARRULUS BRANDTI. (BRANDT’S JAY.) Garrulus brandtti, Eversmann, Add. Pallas. Zoogr. iii. p. 8 (1843). Brandt’s Jay differs from the Common and Japanese Jays in having the ground-colour of the forehead, crown, nape, and mantle chestnut-buff, and the outer webs of the primaries pale grey. Figures : Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 255. Brandt’s Jay is a resident in Yezzo, but has not been known to cross the Straits of Tsugaru. There are several examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 450), and one in the Pryer collection from the same locality. CORVINA, 101 69, GARRULUS JAPONICUS. (JAPANESE JAY.) Garrulus glandarius japonicus, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna J aponica, Aves, p. 83 (1847). The Japanese Jay differs from Brandt’s Jay in having black lores, in having the ground-colour of the forebead and crown nearly white, and in having the outer webs of the primaries nearly white towards the apex and nearly black towards the base. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 43. The Japanese Jay is a common resident in Southern Japan, but has not been known to occur in Yezzo. There are several examples in the Swinhoe collection from Yokohama (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, p: 144), and a large series in the Pryer collection from the same locality. Mr. Ringer has obtained it at Nagasaki, whence he has sent examples to the Norwich Museum. It has not been recorded from any part of the Asiatic continent. It is quite a mistake to suppose that the European Jay is more nearly allied to the Japanese than to the Siberian or Chinese Jays. It certainly resembles it most in the colour and markings of the crown; but this is a very variable character in adults, and still more so in young in first plumage. The Japanese Jay is unique in having black lores, the other three species having them coloured like the crown. The Japanese and Chinese species agree in having the terminal portions of the outer webs of the primaries white and the basal portions black, whilst the European and Siberian species agree in having the whole outer webs of the primaries for the most part grey. The Chinese species possesses two unique characters: it has no black streaks on the crown, and the central portion of the outer webs of its first four secondaries are barred with white, black, and blue. The European Jay is nearest allied to the Siberian Jay, and, according to Bogdanow, intergrades with it. 70. GARRULUS SINENSIS. (CHINESE JAY. Garrulus sinensis, Gould, fide Swinhoe, Proc, Zoo Soc. 1863 p. 304. The Chinese Jay has all the body-feathers uniform vinaceous, shading into white on the upper and under tail-coverts, except a 102 PASSERLS. broad black malar stripe. The central portions of the outer webs of the first five secondaries are barred with white, black, and blue, and the basal portions of the outer webs of the primaries are black. The Chinese Jay is very closely allied to the Himalayan Jay, Gar- rulus bispecularis, and to the Formosan Jay, Garrulus taivanus. In the Himalayan Jay the nasal bristles are of the same colour as the crown; in the Chinese Jay they are tipped with black; and in the Formosan Jay they are entirely black. In this character the Chinese Jay agrees with the Japanese, Siberian, and European Jays. There is an example of the Chinese Jay in the British Museum which is labelled as having been bought at Stevens’s Sale-rooms in 1865 as part of a collection of birds procured by Captain St. John at Nagasaki (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. iii. p. 101). This is the only record of the occurrence of this species in Japan. The Chinese Jay has a very restricted range, and, with the above- named exception, has only been recorded from South China. The Himalayan Jay is found as far east as Eastern Thibet, and on the : island of Formosa a third allied species occurs. 71. PICA CAUDATA. (COMMON MAGPIE.) Pica caudata, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Dig. ii. p. 40 (1769). The Common Magpie is black and white; the black more or less bronzed with green and purple, and the white confined to the scapulars, the belly, the rump, and the centres of the quills. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 260. The Common Magpie was long ago recorded both from the Kurile Islands and from Japan (Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i, p. 890), but it has not been obtained from either locality of recent years. It is not known to have occurred in Yezzo or in the main island of Japan, but there can be little doubt that it breeds on Kiusiu (Blakiston, Amended List of the Birds of Japan, p. 48). Dr. Rein obtained the nests and eggs and found the bird to be common near the Shimbara Gulf, east of Nagasaki; and skins were brought to Leyden by the Siebold Expedition (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 81). It is probably the typical form of the Magpie which is found in Southern Japan. I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Dresser LANIIN.&G. 103 for several examples of the Magpie said to have been procured by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands. Of these one might be called Pica caudata leucoptera, if the recognition of such an intermediate form be allowable; the others are Pica caudata kamtschatkensis, and. probably came from Kamtschatka. It is, however, possible that this local race may migrate to the Kurile Islands in autumn. LANIIN A, Sexes alike or nearly so; first primary about half the length of the second ; young in first plumage transversely barred on the under- parts, and in some genera on the upper parts also. Rictal bristles well developed. If the Laniine be regarded as consisting of the Shrikes, the Cuckoo-Shrikes, and the Swallow-Shrikes, to the exclusion of the Drongo Shrikes (which may possibly be a natural arrangement), the subfamily will contain about 300 species, of which 7 have been recorded from the Japanese Empire. With the exception of the Arctic Region, they are distributed throughout the Old World. The true Shrikes, being the most arctic, have found their way across Bering Straits and have spread over North America. 72. LANIUS MAJOR. (PALLAS’S GREY SHRIKE.) Lanius major, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 401 (1826). Pallas’s Grey Shrike has the crown and back grey, shading into white on the forehead and upper tail-coverts. The claim of Pallas’s Grey Shrike to be regarded as a Japanese bird rests upon a single example procured by Captain Blakiston near Hakodadi about the year 1873 (Scebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 37). Pallas’s Grey Shrike breeds in Southern Siberia from the Ural Mountains to Kamtschatka, and is an occasional winter visitor to the British Islands. 104 PASSERES. 73. LANIUS MAGNIROSTRIS. (THICK-BILLED SHRIKE.) Lanius magnirostris, Lesson, Zool. Voy. Indes-Or. p. 251 (1884). The Thick-billed Shrike has the crown and nape grey, the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts chestnut, barred with black, and the tail plain russet. Figures: Walden, Ibis, 1867, pl. 6. The Thick-billed Shrike is a very rare bird.in Japan. There is an example in the Pryer collection from Yokohama (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 87); and a second example was obtained by Mr. Jouy on Fuji-yama during July (Blakiston, Am. List Birds of Japan, p. 49). The Thick-billed Shrike breeds on the shores of the Japanese Sea, north of Vladivostok (Taczanowski, Journ. Orn. 1876, p. 197), and in Central China ; it winters in the Malay Peninsula. 74, LANIUS SUPERCILIOSUS. (JAPANESE RED-TAILED SHRIKE.) Lanius superciliosus, Latham, Index Orn. Suppl. p. xx (1801). The Japanese Red-tailed Shrike has the crown, nape, back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail rich chestnut. Figures: Walden, Ibis, 1867, pl. 5. fig. 2 (erroneously named Lanius phenicurus). The Japanese Red-tailed Shrike is probably only a summer visitor to Yezzo and Southern Japan. There is an example from Hakodadi in the Swinhoe collection (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 450); and there are eight examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. It winters in some numbers in Malacca. So far is certain, but whether it also breeds in Malacca, or whether any of the Japanese birds remain in Southern Japan during the winter, is unknown. The Japanese Red-tailed Shrike appears to be a rufous island form of the Indian Red-tailed Shrike, Lanius cristatus, with which it almost seems to intergrade; that is to say, that the brightest examples from Eastern Siberia scarcely differ from the dullest examples from Japan, though a series of the one are very different on an average from a series of the other. There can be no doubt that the Siberian birds (the Lanius phenicurus of Pallas), of which I have a large series LANIINA. 105 from the Yenesay, the Amoor, and the Ussuri, are identical with the Indian birds (in their winter-quarters) and not with the Japanese birds. The western form is so pale that it may be called a desert form—Lanius isabellinus, breeding in Turkestan and Mongolia, and wintering in Scinde, Arabia, and Abyssinia. This form appears to be specifically distinct, inasmuch as the males have a white bar across the wing formed by the white bases of the pri- maries. This species is also subject tv much climatic variation, and may be separated into two or more subspecies. The Japanese Red-tailed Shrike makes a large nest in the fork of a small tree or bush, composed of roots, the stems of plants, and dry grass, lined with finer grass and rootlets (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 292). Eggs in the Pryer collection resemble rufous eggs of the Woodchat. 75. LANIUS LUCIONENSIS. (CHINESE RED-TAILED SHRIKE.) Lanius lucionensis, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 185 (1766). The Chinese Red-tailed Shrike has the crown and nape grey in the adult and brown in the young, shading into greyish white on the forehead and into chestnut on the upper tail-coverts and tail. Figures: Walden, Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. pl. 29. fig. 1. The Chinese race of the Red-tailed Shrike appears to winter in some of the Loo-Choo Islands, and may possibly be a resident there. A nearly adult example in the Pryer collection was procured near Naha, the capital of the largest island (Okinawa) of the central group, in January. This race breeds in North China and winters in the Philippine Tslands and on some of the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Lanius cristatus is intermediate in colour between Lanius super- ciliosus and Lanius lucionensis, but it does not appear quite to intergrade with either. Its breeding-grounds are by no means intermediate between those of its allies, either geographically or climatically. The Rufous Shrikes, like the Swallows, appear to moult in our winter, and it is very probable that the winter-quarters of Lanius cristatus may be climatically intermediate between those of its allies. 106 PASSERES. 76. LANIUS BUCEPHALUS. (BULL-HEADED SHRIKE.) Lanius bucephalus, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 89 (1847) The Bull-headed Shrike has the head and nape rufous, and the tail for the most part grey. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 14. The Bull-headed Shrike is a very common resident in Southern Japan, but to Yezzo it is only a summer visitor. There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 450) ; and there are eight examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. I have three examples collected by Mr. Heywood Jones on Fuji-yama; and Mr. Ringer has procured it at Nagasaki, and has presented examples to the Norwich Museum from that locality. The Bull-headed Shrike breeds in the valley of the Ussuri (Tac- zanowski, Journ. Orn. 1876, p. 197), as well as in Japan and North China, and winters in South China. Eggs in the Pryer collection resemble blue varieties of eggs of the Woodchat. The uest is described as made of twigs and dead grass, lined with finest grass (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 146). 77. PERICROCOTUS CINEREUS. (SIBERIAN MINIVET.) Pericrocotus cinereus, Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 94. The Siberian Minivet is grey above and white below. The fore- head is white, the crown and nape black, and the wings and tail are partly black and partly white. Figures: Gould, Birds of Asia, i. pl. 11. It is rather remarkable that the Siberian Minivet has not been recorded from Yezzo. I have an example collected by Mr. Heywood Jones on Fuji-yama, and in the Pryer collection are five examples from the same locality. This species also breeds in Manchuria, whence examples have been sent by Dybowski from the mouth of the Ussuri River; and passes through China on migration to winter in the Philippine Islands, Bornco, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula. STURNINAE. 107 78. PERICROCOTUS TEGIM A. (LOO-CHOO MINIVET.) Pericrocotus tegime, Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 648. The Loo-Choo Minivet differs from its Siberian and Japanese ally in having a grey instead of a white breast, and in having the white on the forehead restricted to a narrow line at the base of the bill and over each eye, instead of occupying the whole of the fore- head and the front part of the crown as far back as the eyes. Figures : Stejneger, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. 1887, pl. 2. The Loo-Choo Minivet was described by Dr. Stejneger from examples collected in March by Mr. Namiye on Okinawa Shima, one of the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands, where it is supposed to be a resident. There are three examples in the Pryer collection from the same locality. STURNIN. Sexes alike, or nearly so; first primary very small; no rictal bristles; young in first plumage (which is moulted in the first autumn) sometimes very different from the adult, sometimes the same. Autumn plumage of adult changed in spring, not by a moult, but by casting the tips of the feathers. The Sturnine probably number about 150 species, if the Wax- wings be included in the group. The Starlings are distributed over most parts of the Old World except in the Arctic Region, where their place is taken by the Waxwings. The range of the latter extends across the Arctic Regions of both continents. ‘Two species of each group occur in Japan. 79. STURNUS CINERACEUS. (GREY STARLING.) Sturnus cineraceus, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 556 (1835). The Grey Starling is a large bird (wing from carpal joint about 5 inches), with yellow bill and feet. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 45. 108 PASSERES. The Grey Starling is a common summer visitor to Yezzo; but in Southern Japan it is a resident. There are several examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 159), where a single specimen was obtained twenty years previously by the Perry Expedition (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, li, p. 220), There are four examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and it has been obtained by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 186). It breeds in holes in fir-trees (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 233). Eggs in the Pryer collection resemble rather small and rather dark eggs of the European Starling. The range of the European Starling extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia as far east as Western Dauria. In Eastern Dauria, the lower valley of the Amoor, and southwards into North China it is replaced by the Grey Starling, which winters in South China, Formosa, and Hainan. There is a smaller resident species in South China, Sturnus sericeus, which is said to have been once procured in Japan, but it is very doubtful that it has occurred there in a wild state (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 146). 80. STURNIA PYRRHOGENYS. (RED-CHEEKED STARLING.) Lamprotornis pyrrhogenys, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 86 (1847). The Red-cheeked Starling is a small bird (wing from carpal joint about 43 inches) with dark-blue bill and feet. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 46, as Lamprotornis pyrrhopogon. The Red-cheeked Starling is one of a small section of Japanese birds belonging to different families, and some of them to different orders, but agreeing in the remarkable peculiarity, that whilst they are, so far as is known, absolutely confined to the Japanese Islands during the breeding-season, they migrate southwards in autumn, some to one country and others to another. It has been recorded from Eturop, one of the Kurile Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 146); and there are several examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi STURNINE. 109 (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 159), where it had been found in abundance twenty years previously by the Perry Expedition (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 220). There are half a dozen examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama; and Mr. Ringer has procured it at Nagasaki. It has also been recorded from the southern group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 413). In winter it has been recorded from the Philippine Islands, and from Celebes and Borneo. As it is not known to have occurred in China or Formosa ; it appears to take a short cut from the Loo-Choo Islands to the Philippines. It was described and figured as long ago as 1760 (Brisson, Orn. iii. p. 446), from an example obtained on the Philippine Islands; but Brisson mistook it for a large species of Stonechat, and named it Ficedula rubetra philippensis major! Ten or twelve years later Buffon and Montbeillard’s great work appeared, accompanied by the ‘Planches Enluminées,’ in which d’Aubenton figured the adult (pl. 185. fig. 2) and the young (pl. 627. fig. 2); the former being described as a species of Stonechat (Buffon, Hist. Nat. Ois. v. p. 230), and the latter as a species of Blackbird! (Montb. Hist. Nat. Ois. iii. p. 896). In 1783 the name of Motacilla vielacea was based upon the figure of the adult (Boddaert, Table Planches Enl. p. 11), and that of Turdus dominicanus upon the figure of the young (Boddaert, Table Planches Enl. p. 38). The nomenclature of the Red-cheeked Starling was further complicated in 1788, the adult being named Motacilla philippensis (Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 968); and again in 1829, though a step towards its correct systematic position was made when the bird was named Pastor ruficollis (Wagler, Syst. Av. p. 92). In 1847 Temminck and Schlegel, in the ‘Fauna Japonica,’ gave it a new generic name, and two new specific names, one in the text and one on the plate. In 1850 two more names—Heterornis pyrrhogenys (said to reside in Japan and Borneo) and Heterornis ruficollis (said to be a Philippine species)—were added to the synonymy of this bird (Bonaparte, Conspectus Avium, i. p. 418). Two more names were added in 1870, Temenuchus pyrrhogenys and Temenuchus ruficollis (Gray, Hand-list of Birds, ii. p. 21); one more in 1872, Acridotheres pyrrhogenys (Giebel, Thes. Orn. i. p. 268); one more in 1875, Sturnia violaceus (Walden, Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 203) ; and two more in 1877, Sturnia pyrrhogenys and Sturnia ruficollis (Giebel, Thes. Orn. ili. p. 550). 110 PASSERES. The Red-cheeked Starling is a very well marked species, but it is apparently nearest allied to Sturnia daurica, a Starling which breeds in Eastern Siberia and Mongolia, and passes through China on migration to winter in the Burma peninsula and Java. 81. AMPELIS GARRULUS. (BOHEMIAN WAXWING.) Ampelis garrulus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 297 (1766). In the Bohemian Waxwing the tip of the tail is yellow. Figures : Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 155. The Bohemian Waxwing is a common winter visitor to Yezzo, and occasionally wanders into Southern Japan. There are two examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 158), and four in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The examples procured by the Siebold Expedition were probably obtained at Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 84), The Bohemian Waxwing breeds in the Arctic Regions of both continents, and sometimes visits the British Islands in great numbers. 82. AMPELIS JAPONICUS. (JAPANESE WAXWING.) Bombycivora japonica, Siebold, Hist. Nat. Jap. St. no. 2 (1824). In the Japanese Waxwing the tip of the tail is red. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 44, as Bombycilla phenicoptera. The Japanese Waxwing is a winter visitor to Japan, but is less abundant than the European species. It is very rare in Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 200), but there are seven examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. Mr. Ringer has presented examples to the Norwich Museum obtained at Nagasaki (Blakiston, Am. List Birds of Japan, p. 50); and it has also been recorded from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 648). The Japanese Waxwing breeds in South-eastern Siberia, and winters in Japan, China, and Formosa. In winter it often feeds on the berries of the mistletoe (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 291). MOTACILLIN &. 111 MOTACILLIN. First primary obsolete ; bill narrow and notched; tertials reaching very nearly or quite to the end of the wing. The Motacillinze scarcely number 100 species, but they are nearly cosmopolitan, being absent only from the Pacific Islands. Seven species have been recorded from the Japanese Empire. 83. MOTACILLA LUGENS. (KAMTSCHATKAN WAGTAIL.) Motacilla lugens, Pallas, fide Kittlitz, Kupfertafeln zur Naturgeschichte der Vogel, p. 16 (1832). The Kamtschatkan Wagtail always has the sides of the head white, with a black band through the eye; and there is always much white on the inner webs of the first and second as well as of the remaining primaries. Figures : Seebohm, Ibis, 1878, pl. 9 (male in first summer plu- mage). The Kamtschatkan Wagtail was originally described from ex- amples obtained in Kamtschatka. Under the impression that white secondaries were the peculiar character which distinguished the Japanese Wagtail, I named the bird in its first summer plumage (in which the secondaries are grey) Motacilla amurensis (Seebohm, Ibis, 1878, p. 345). Soon afterwards I discovered that black cheeks were the peculiar character which distinguished the Japanese Wagtail both summer and winter; and finding a series of Wagtails from Japan with white secondaries and white cheeks, I named them Metacilla blakistoni (Seebohm, Ibis, 1883, p. 91). In 1884 Captain Blakiston discovered that my Motacilla amurensis was the same species in first summer plumage which in the following summer and for the rest of its life became my Motacilla blakistoni. In 1885 hoth these names were shown to be synonyms of the Motacilla lugens of Kittlitz (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. x. p. 474). I have a large series of this species from the Kurile Islands, col- lected by Mr. Snow; from Yezzo, collected by Captain Blakiston ; 112 PASSERES. from Yokohama, collected by Mr. Pryer; and from Nagasaki, col- lected by Mr. Ringer. The Kamtschatkan Wagtail breeds in Kamtschatka, the Kurile Islands, and very sparingly in Yezzo. It migrates southward in autumn, and is common in winter at Nagasaki and Yokohama. On the continent it appears to have a very restricted range, breeding in the valley of the Lower Amoor and wintering in South China, The changes of plumage of the Kamtschatkan Wagtail have given rise to much confusion and to many synonyms, for some of which I am responsible. First, as regards season: in summer the lower throat is black, in winter white. Second, as regards age: adult birds have the secondaries and the greater part of the primaries white ; in immature birds they are brown. The brown quills are not moulted until the second autumn, so that adult birds are always more than a year old. Third, as regards sex: in their first winter plumage the males resemble the females in having grey backs, but differ from them in having some black on the crown. In their first spring plumage the back and rump of both male and female are mottled black and grey, but in the male the black greatly preponde- rates and in the female the grey. In adult winter plumage the back and rump of the male are more black than grey, but those of the female are entirely grey. In adult summer plumage the back and rump of the male are entirely black, but those of the female are grey slightly mottled with black. 84, MOTACILLA JAPONICA. (JAPANESE WAGTAIL.) Motacilla japonica, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, p. 275. The Japanese Wagtail never has white on the ear-coverts or between the ear-coverts and the eye, the cheeks being grey in young in first plumage and black ever afterwards. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 25. The Japanese Wagtail was supposed to be peculiar to Japan, where it is a resident, both on Yezzo and the more southerly islands; but it has been found to breed in the upper valley of the Ussuri (Tacza- nowski, Journ. Orn. 1876, p. 194). I have one of the examples MOTACILLIN.E. 113 from the latter locality, besides a series from various localities in Japan. In the Swinhoe collection there are five examples from Yezzo; in the Pryer collection there are six examples from Yoko- hama; and in the British Museum is an example, presented by Mr. Ringer, from Nagasaki, where the example figured in the ‘Fauna Japonica’ as Motacilla lugens was probably obtained. The changes which the Japanese Wagtail undergoes differ com- pletely from those of its Kamtschatkan ally. First, as regards season: the plumage of winter does not differ from that of summer ; the head is always entirely black, except the white forehead, chin, and eye-stripe. Second, as regards age: the amount of white on the quills of adult birds resembles that of the allied species; but in immature birds there is also a great deal of white on the basal halves of these feathers. Young in first plumage have the entire head, breast, and back grey. Third, as regards sex: females differ only from males in having the back a very dark slate-grey instead of black. . The Pied Wagtails appear to be of all birds the most unfortunate as regards nomenclature. The Japanese Wagtail was originally de- scribed in 1835 as Motacilla lugubris (Temminck, Man. d’Orn. iii. p. 175), and twelve years later as Motacilla lugens (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p.60). In 1863 Swinhoe discovered that both these names were preoccupied (though he did not place either of them correctly), and renamed the Japanese Wagtail Motacilla japonica. He, however, fell into the same error that the authors of the ‘Fauna Japonica’ committed, correctly regarding the plumage there figured as that of adult summer, but incorrectly regarding the Kamtschatkan Wagtail as the winter plumage. It was not until twenty-one years later that the Japanese Wagtail was correctly diagnosed. (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 38). If Swinhoe was a lumper I was a splitter. Swinhoe confounded two species under the name M. japonica. I restricted his name to the Japanese Wag- tail, and split the Kamtschatkan Wagtail into two supposed species, M. amurensis and M. blakistonit. This ought to have been a final settlement of the nomenclature of the Japanese Wagtail; but in 1885 the synonymy of this unfortunate bird was once more confused by the addition of a fourth name, M. grandis (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. x. p. 492). It is unnecessary to say that there can be no excuse for the creation of this useless synonym. 114 PASSERES. 85. MOTACILLA BOARULA. (GREY WAGTAIL.) Motacilla boarula, Linneus, Mantissa Plantarum, p. 527 (1771). The Grey Wagtail has yellow under tail-coverts, much more bril- liant than the yellow breast and belly. Japanese examples have, on an average, shorter tails than those from Europe. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 128. The Grey Wagtail is found on all the Japanese Islands, but is probably only a summer visitor to the Kuriles, whence I have examples collected by Mr. Snow, and to Yezzo, whence there are examples in the Swinhoe collection obtained by Captain Blakiston (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 157). A pair were found at Hakodadi by the Perry expedition twenty years earlier (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 221). There are several examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and Mr. Ringer gave me two examples from Nagasaki, where those obtained by the Siebold ex- pedition were doubtless procured (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 59). It has been obtained early in March on the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 642), and there is an example in the Pryer collection from the same locality (Seebohm, Lbis, 1887, p. 176). The Grey Wagtail has a very extensive breeding-range, from the British Islands across Russia and Siberia to Japan; but there can be no doubt that eastern examples have on an average shorter tails than western examples. Fifty Asiatic examples vary in the length of the tail from 3:1 to 8°75 inches; whilst forty examples from England, Europe, and Asia Minor vary from 3°5 to 41 inches. The eastern form was described in 1776 as Motacilla melanope (Pallas, Reis. Russ. Reichs, ili. p. 696), and may fairly claim to be sub- specifically distinct under the name of Motacilla boarula melanope. 86. MOTACILLA FLAVA. (BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL.) Motacilla flava, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 331 (1766), The Blue-headed Wagtail has the breast, belly, and under tail- MOTACILLIN Z. 115 coverts of the same shade of yellow. It always has an eye-stripe, white in the male, dull white in the female, and buff in the young. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iti. pl. 129. figs. 1, 2. It is not known that any species of Yellow Wagtail (subgenus Budytes) occurs on any of the main islands of Japan; but examples occur on the Kurile Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 839) which have dark olive-green heads and buff eye-stripes. There is one in the Pryer collection. They are probably females and immature males of Motacilla flava, which breeds in the Commander Islands, and ranges across Southern Siberia and Central Europe as far as Hol- land, but is only known as an accidental visitor on migration to the British Islands. 87. ANTHUS MACULATUS. (EASTERN TREE-PIPIT.) Anthus maculatus, Hodgson, Gray's Zool. Miscell. 1844, p. 83. In the Eastern Tree-Pipit the hind toe is longer than its claw ; the belly is always white, and the tail short (less than 24 inches). It is greener than the two other Japanese species. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 23. The Eastern Tree-Pipit is only a summer visitor to Yezzo; but in Southern Japan it breeds on the mountains and winters in great numbers in the pine-plantations in the plains (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 153). There are ten examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama; Mr. Ringer has prescnted examples to the Norwich Museum from Nagasaki; and there is an example in the Pryer collection from the central group of the Loo- Choo Islands. The breeding-range of the Tree-Pipit extends from the British Islands across Europe and South Siberia to Japan. Eastern ex- amples are more suffused with green on the upper parts, and the spots on the mantle are so much more obscure that typical examples cannot be confounded together except in abraded plumage. Some examples from the valley of the Yenesay and from the Himalayas are, however, slightly intermediate; and it is possible that the two races may ultimately be regarded as only subspecifically distinct. The Eastern Tree-Pipit is found on Fuji-yama as high up as the snow-line. The nest is placed on the ground, and is built of moss and coarse grass, lined with fine grass and rootlets (Jouy, Proc. 12 116 PASSERES. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 289). Eggs in the Pryer col- lection are pinky grey, with light and dark sepia streaks, spots, and blotches, and exactly resemble a common variety of the eggs of the western species. 88. ANTHUS SPINOLETTA. (ALPINE PIPTT.) Anthus spinoletta, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 288 (1766). The Japanese race of the Alpine Pipit has brown upper parts, suffused with grey in summer plumage. The dark centres to the feathers are very obscure, almost obsolete on the crown. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 24 (under the name of Anthus pratensis japonicus). The Japanese Alpine Pipit breeds on the Kurile Islands, whence I have three examples collected on Urup by Wossnesenski (See- bohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 34) and three collected by Mr. Snow. Dr. Henderson obtained it at Hakodadi in October 1857 (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 193) ; and I have six examples col- lected by Captain Blakiston in Yezzo in September, October, and November (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 449). It is common in winter in Southern Japan, and there are no fewer than twelve examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. Its breeding-range extends to Eastern Siberia, and there are examples in the Swinhoe collection from South China, where it is only known as a winter visitor. There seem to be four races of Alpine Pipit. The typical, or Western Palzearctic, form differs from the other three in being on an average slightly larger ; the Eastern Palearctic form, Anthus spino- letta blakistoni, only differs from the typical form in size; but the Japanese form, Anthus spinoletta japonicus, differs from most ex- amples of the other three forms in having pale legs and feet; and the Nearctic form, Anthus spinoletta pennsylvanicus, generally (though not always) differs from the other three forms in having the outer web of the penultimate tail-feather on each side white for some distance from the tip. In Captain Blakiston’s collection there is a remarkably handsome specimen of the fully adult Japanese Alpine Pipit in summer plumage, which scarcely differs from that of the American Alpine Pipit (Swainson and Richardson, Faun. Bor-Amer. ii. pl. 44). ALAUDIN.A. 117 89. ANTHUS CERVINUS. (RED-THROATED PIPIT.) Motacilia cervina, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 511 (1826). The Red-throated Pipit differs from the Japanese Alpine Pipit in having conspicuous dark centres to all the feathers of the upper parts; and from the Eastern Tree-Pipit in having the belly always buff, and the hind toe shorter than its claw. Figures : Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 136. The Red-throated Pipit is a rare visitor on migration in spring and autumn to the Japanese Islands. I have never seen a specimen from Japan, but there cannot be much doubt that it does occur there, as I have one example (No. 2056) obtained by Mr. Snow on Shumshu (the most northerly of the Kurile Islands) on the 7th of June, 1876 (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 34) ; a second example obtained by Mr. Snow on Eturup (the most southerly but one of the same group) in September; a third example (in the Pryer collection) obtained by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands on the 29th of July; and a fourth and fifth example (also in the Pryer collection) obtained on the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands in January. The breeding-range of the Red-throated Pipit extends on the tundras above the limit of forest-growth from the Atlantic to the Pacific; but in the eastern and western extremities of its range it is a rare bird, which accounts for the difficulty of procuring examples in Japan and the British Islands, where it only occurs on migration to its winter-quarters in North-east Africa and Burma. ALAUDINA. Sexes nearly alike; young in first plumage (which is moulted in the first autumn) spotted above and below; first primary generally very small, sometimes obsolete ; back of tarsus scutellated. There are about 70 species of Larks, chiefly confined to the Pale- arctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions. One of the Palearctic species is circumpolar, and each of the Australian, Neotropical, and Nearctic Regions contains a solitary species. ; One species (possibly two) is represented in the Japanese Empire. 118 PASSERES. 90. ALAUDA ARVENSIS. (SKY-LARK.) Alauda arvensis, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 287 (1766). The Sky-Lark is too well known to need description. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 47 (under the name of Alauda japonica). The Sky-Lark is found on all the Japanese Islands and on the Kurile Islands. To the latter and possibly to Yezzo it is only a summer visitor, but in Southern Japan it breeds on the mountains and winters in the plains. I have four examples procured on the Kurile Islands by Mr. Snow. They are large birds (wing from carpal joint 4°7 to 4°25 inches), and, in newly moulted autumn plumage, they have very white bellies and bright sandy-buff margins to the feathers of the upper parts. They belong toa large north-eastern race of the Sky-Lark, which breeds in Kamtschatka and the Kurile Islands, and winters in Japan and North China, If it be regarded as subspecifically distinct it must bear the name of Alauda arvensis pekinensis (Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, p. 89). I have seven examples procured in Yezzo by Captain Blakiston during March, April, May, June, and September; they are rather smaller birds (wing 4°1 to 3°7 inches), but they do not differ from the Kurile examples in colour. There are eight examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, which are on an average slightly smaller still (wing 4:0 to 8°55 inches), but no difference of colour is discoverable. Examples from every locality get very dark in summer from the abrasion of the buff margins of the feathers, and lose the brilliance of the white on the belly from stains. If this small race be re- garded as subspecifically distinct it must bear the name of Alauda arvensis gaponica. ‘This race appears to be a resident in Japan, North China, and Thibet. These three races have their exact parallels in Europe. The typical Alauda arvensis is a large north-western race, breeding in Scandinavia and wintering in England and Central Europe. The intermediate forms, which are resident in the British Isles, represent the intermediate forms found in Yezzo; whilst a small resident race inhabits Southern Europe, Alauda arvensis cantarella (Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. & N. Amer. p. 37). The western races are buffer on the underparts and greyer on the upper parts than the eastern raccs ; ALAUDINE. 119 but between them, breeding in Siberia and wintering in North-west India, Asia Minor, and Palestine, occurs an Arctic race, Alauda arvensis dulcivoe (Hodgson, Gray’s Zool. Misc. i. p. 84), of inter- mediate size between the northern and southern races, and inter- mediate in the colour of the underparts between the eastern and western races, but much greyer on the upper parts than either of them. When we remember that the north, south, east, west, and arctic races intergrade in every direction, it is easy to understand how com- plicated a problem the nomenclature of the races of the Sky-Lark becomes. It is, however, still more complicated by the existence of a small race or species (wing 3°7 to 3°2 inches) in South China and Ceylon, of the colour of the European Sky-Lark, but having on an average a larger bill and a longer hind claw. This species intergrades with a pale grey race, which appears to be a resident in Turkestan and India.. The pale small species has been called Alauda gulgula (Franklin, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1831, p. 119); and the rufous race of it might be called Alauda guigula celivoxr (Swinhoe, Zoologist, 1859, p. 6723), were it not that on the Island of Formosa it appears to intergrade with Alauda arvensis pekinensis. Probably all the seven forms are only climatic races of one widely spread and very variable species. 91. ALAUDA ALPESTRIS. (SHORE-LARK.) Aluuda alpestris, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 289 (1766). The Shore-Lark may be recognized by the black on the fore part of the crown, the ear-coverts, and the upper breast. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 243. The Shore-Lark, Alauda alpestris, has very slender claims to be regarded as a Japanese bird. It was included doubtfully from a drawing amongst the discoveries of Dr. Siebold (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 188), but it has not been obtained by recent collectors. There is some evidence that it occurs on the Kurile Islands, as its local name there is recorded (Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. ii. p. 520). The Shore-Lark is a circumpolar bird, breeding on the tundras of both hemispheres above the limit of forest-growth. 120 PASSERES. FRINGILLIN &. Sexes generally different; first primary obsolete; bill thick, conical, and unnotched ; tertials reaching beyond the middle of the wing. The Fringilline number about 500 species, of which 32 have been recorded from the Japanese Empire. This subfamily is almost cosmopolitan, but in the Australian Region it is only known from the Sandwich Islands. 92. COCCOTHRAUSTES VULGARIS. (COMMON HAWFINCH.) Coccothraustes vulgaris, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. ii. p. 12 (1826). The Hawfinch can always be recognized by its very thick bill and the curious shape of some of its innermost primaries, which are notched at the end of the inner webs and expanded at the end of the outer webs. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 51. The Common Hawfinch is a resident in Japan. I have an example collected by Mr. Henson near Hakodadi in February, and there are two examples in the Swinhoe collection obtained by Captain Blakiston in the same locality (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 160). There are examples in the Paris Museum obtained near Aomori, in the north of Hondo, by ’Abbé Fauire; and there are five examples in the Pryer collection from the neighbourhood of Yokohama, where it is probably only a winter visitor, as it is said to appear in Central Hondo in considerable numbers in autumn about every third year (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 295); Mr. Ringer has obtained it at Nagasaki, whence he has sent examples to the Norwich Museum. The breeding-range of the Common Hawfinch extends from the British Islands across Europe and Southern Siberia to Japan. Eastern examples have been described as distinct, under the name of Coccothraustes japonicus (Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 506), under the impression that the ends of the wing-coverts were paler in FRINGILLIN &. 121 European than in Japanese and Chinese examples. There can be no doubt that the two alleged forms are not specifically distinct. The utmost that can be said is that on an average Eastern examples may be a shade darker at the ends of the wing-coverts than Western ones, but the extreme range of variation is so small that it is very doubtful whether it ought to be recognized as a subspecific differ- ence. 93. COCCOTHRAUSTES PERSONATUS. (JAPANESE HAWFINCH.) Coccothraustes personatus, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, A ves, p. 91 (1847). The Japanese Hawfinch has quite as thick a bill as the Common Hawfinch, but is easily distinguished from it by its black crown and black tail. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 52. The Japanese Hawfinch appears to be a resident in Japan. It is found in Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 201), and in the Pryer collec- tion there are three examples from the neighbourhood of Yokohama. It has been obtained on Fuji-yama in June and July (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 295) ; and in the British Museum there are three examples obtained by Mr. Ringer near Nagasaki. On the continent this species breeds near the mouth of the Ussuri River in Eastern Siberia, and winters in South China. 94, LOXIA CURVIROSTRA. (COMMON CROSSBILL.) Loxia curvirostra, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 299 (1766). The Common Crossbill is easily recognized by its crossed man- dibles. It is the type of a group in which the males differ from the females in being suffused with crimson. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 203. The Common Crossbill is a resident in the Japanese Islands. Mr. Snow obtained it on the Kurile Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p.176). I have two examples collected by Mr. Henson near Hakodadi in June; and in the Pryer collection 122 PASSERES. there are nine from the neighbourhood of Yokohama. The examples procured by the Siebold expedition were probably obtained at Naga- saki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 93). The Common Crossbill breeds in the pine-forests of Arctic Europe and Asia from Ireland and Scotland to Kamtschatka and Japan, wandering more or less irregularly southwards in winter. 95. CHAUNOPROCTUS FERREIROSTRIS. (BONIN GROSBEAK.) Coccothraustes ferreirostris, Vigors, Zool. Journ. 1828, p. 354. The Bonin Grosbeak has a thicker bill than any other Finch. The female is a brown bird above and below, but the male is suffused with crimson on the head and underparts. Figures: Vigors, Beechey’s Voyage of the ‘ Blossom,’ pl. 8. The Bonin Grosbeak was discovered on one of the Bonin group during the voyage of the ‘ Blossom,’ and the types are now in the British Museum (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xii. p. 31). It was rediscovered some years later, and redescribed as Fringilla papa (Kittlitz, Mém. prés. & Acad. Imp. des Sciences de St. Pétersb. par divers savans, 1830, p. 239); but it is not known that it has been obtained by any recent traveller, though Mr. Holst heard that it was to be found on the Bailly Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 102). The Bonin Grosbeak is probably related to the Pine-Grosbeak, and may possibly have originated in a flock of those birds which emigrated from the Arctic Regions many thousands of years ago, and which have gradually adapted themselves to the changed condi- tions of life. Its nearest relation appears to be Telespiza cantans from Medway Island, about 300 miles north-west of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands, where another not distantly allied species occurs, Psittirostra psittacea. 96. PINICOLA ENUCLEATOR. (PINE-GROSBEAK.) Loxia enucleator, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 299 (1766). The Pine-Grosbeak is a large Rose-Finch (wing from carpal joint nearly 43 inches), with a somewhat hooked beak. The colour varies FRINGILLINE. 123 with sex and age very similarly to that of the Crossbills. There are always two pale bars across the wings formed by the pale tips of the greater and median wing-coverts. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 201. Two examples of the Pine-Grosbeak have occurred on the Kurile Islands (Blakiston, Amended List of the Birds of Japan, p. 63), one of which I have had an opportunity of examining. This species breeds in the pine-forests of Arctic Europe and Asia, from Lapland to Kamtschatka, and migrates irregularly southwards in autumn, occasionally, but very rarely, visiting the British Islands. It also breeds in Arctic America, 97. CARPODACUS ROSEUS. (ROSE-FINCH.) Fringilla rosea, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p. G99 (1776). The Rose-Finch is a very brilliant bird and is larger than its nearest allies in Japan (wing from carpal joint about 34 inches). It resembles the Japanese Rose-Finch in having pearly-white plumes on the forehead and throat, but differs from it in having the tail much shorter than the wing. Figures: Gould, Birds of Asia, v. pl. 33. The Rose-Finch is a rare winter visitor to the Japanese Islands. It has been obtained in Yezzo (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 245) ; in the Swinhoe collection there is an example from Tokio (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, p. 145) ; and in the Pryer collection there is a second example from the same district. A third example has been recorded from Tate-yama (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 294) ; whilst in the British Museum there is a fourth Japanese example probably collected near Nagasaki. This species breeds in Eastern Siberia and winters in China. 98. CARPODACUS ERYTHRINUS. (SCARLET ROSE-FINCH.) Pyrrhula erythrina, Pallas, N. Comm. Acad. Sc. Imp. Petrop. xiv. p. 587 (1770). The Scarlet Rose-Finch is intermediate in size between its two nearest allies in Japan (wing from carpal joint about 34 inches). 124 PASSERES. It resembles the Common Rose-Finch in having the tail much shorter than the wing, but it differs both from that species and from the Japanese Rose-Finch in having neither pearly-white plumes on the head nor white bars across the wings. Figures : Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 195. The sole claim of the Scarlet Rose-Finch to be regarded as a Japanese bird rests upon an example in the Pryer collection, which was bought alive in the Yokohama market (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 175). The clean condition of its feet and the brilliancy of the deep scarlet breast and throat look like a wild bird, and the fact that its wings are much abraded also point to its not having become used to a cage; but it may nevertheless have been imported from China. This species breeds in the subarctic regions, wherever forests are to be found, from Finland to Kamtschatka and further south at high elevations. It winters in India, Burma, and China, and has twice been known to wander as far as the British Islands. 99. CARPODACUS SANGUINOLENTUS. (JAPANESE ROSE-FINCH.) Pyrrhula sanguinolentus, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 92 (1847). The Japanese Rose-Finch is the smallest of the three Rose-Finches found in Japan, but it has a relatively longer tail (wing from carpal joint about 22 inches, tail slightly longer). It has two very con- spicuous white bars across the wing, and pearly-white plumes on the forehead and throat. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 54 (male), pl. 54.8 (female). The Japanese Rose-Finch is a common resident of the group of islands to which it was formerly supposed to be peculiar. Mr. Snow obtained it from the Kurile Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soe. Japan, p. 174); and in the Swinhoe collection there are two examples from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 160). In the Paris Museum there are examples procured by l’Abbé Fauire near Aomori in Northern Hondo ; and in the Pryer collection there are nine from the neighbourhood of Yokohama. FRINGILLINA. 125 Westwards the range of this species extends to Manchuria, Eastern Siberia, and the Corean Peninsula. 100. FRINGILLA SPINUS. (SISKIN.) Fringilla spinus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 822 (1766). The Siskin is the smallest Finch found in the Japanese Empire (wing from carpal joint about 23 inches). It is a small Greenfinch with a more slender bill. The male has a black crown. The flanks are streaked in the adult of both sexes as well as in the young. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 169. The Siskin appears to be only a winter visitor to the Japanese Islands. It is common in the woods near Hakodadi in autumn (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 201), and in the Pryer collection there are eight examples from the neighbourhood of Yokohama. It appears in large flocks in autumn and winter in Central Hondo (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 297). Mr. Ringer obtained it at Nagasaki, where it was also procured by the Siebold expedition (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 89); and it has been recorded from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stej- neger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 651). ‘Westwards we find the Siskin breeding in the lower Amoor and wintering in South China; but beyond this range it is not known that the Siskin occurs, except west of the Ural Mountains, whence its range extends to the British Islands. It is highly improbable that the range of the Siskin is discontinuous, and it will most probably be found to extend to the mountain-ranges of Southera Siberia. Eastern examples have been described as distinct under the name of Chrysomitris dybowskii (Taczanowski, Journ. Orn. 1876, p. 199), but I have failed to discover the alleged difference. 101. FRINGILLA LINARIA. (MEALY REDPOLE.) Fringilla linaria, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 822 (1766). In the Mealy Redpole the forehead and the front half of the crown is crimson ; the breast is also frequently suffused with rosy pink. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 187. 126 PASSERES. The Mealy Redpole is probably only a winter visitor to the Japanese Islands. In the Swinhoe collection there are three examples from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 160), and in the Pryer col- lection there are four from Yokohama. Two examples are recorded from Central Hondo, obtained in November (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 297) ; and those procured by the Siebold expedition were probably obtained at Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 89). It is a circumpolar bird, breeding in high latitudes at or near the limit of forest-growth, and migrating irregularly southwards in cold weather, occasionally visiting the British Islands. In all the Redpoles which I have seen from Japan the rump and upper tail-coverts are streaked with brown, and the bill is large. 102. FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA. (BRAMBLING.) Fringilla montifringilla, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 318 (1766). The Brambling is the only Japanese Finch with a white rump. In both sexes the throat and breast are chestnut-buff, but in the male the rest of the head and the back are black (edged with buff in the autumn), whilst in the female these parts are dark brown, edged with buff, at all seasons. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 184. The Brambling is a common winter visitor to all the Japanese Islands. It frequents the neighbourhood of Hakodadi during winter in small flocks (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 201); and there are examples in the Paris Museum procured near Aomori, in the north of Hondo, by PAbbé Fauire. There are six examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The examples procured by the Siebold expedition were probably obtained at Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 87); and it occurs on the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. 1887, p. 176), and on the Bonin Islands on migration (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 101). The breeding-range of the Brambling extends across the Palie- arctic Region from Lapland to Kamtschatka, but in the British Islands, as in Japan, it is only known as a winter visitor. FRINGILLINE, 127 103. FRINGILLA SINICA. (CHINESE GREENFINCH.) Fringilla sinica, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 821 (1766). The Chinese Greenfinch is less than its European representative (wing from carpal joint 3°3 to 3:1 inches), and further differs from it in having the bases of the secondaries yellow on both webs. It is rather less than the Japanese Greenfinch. The crown of the male is grey, and that of the female greyish brown. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 49. The Chinese Greenfinch is a resident in the Japanese Islands. It is very common in Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 202); there is a large series from Yokohama in the Pryer collection ; and several examples from Nagasaki were presented by Mr. Ringer to the British Museum. This species is very common throughout China, and a single example was obtained by Dr. Radde in the valley of the Amoor. It was also found by General Prjevalski in the north-east of Mongolia. The rump and underparts are very slightly suffused with yellow in the female. In the young in first plumage most of the small feathers have dark central streaks. The three Greenfinches found in the Japanese Empire are very nearly allied, and may eventually prove to be only subspecifically distinct. 104, FRINGILLA KAWARAHIBA. (JAPANESE GREENFINCH.) Fringilla kawarahiba, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 588. fig. 1 (1836). The Japanese Greenfinch is on an average larger than the Chinese Greenfinch (wing from carpal joint 3:4 to 3°2 inches), but agrees with it in having the bases of the secondaries yellow on both webs. It further differs in having the crown of the male brown instead of grey, and that of the female sandy brown instead of greyish brown. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 48. The Japanese Greenfinch is only known from the islands whose name it bears, but it is by no means a common bird. I have one example collected by Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi, where it is 128 PASSERES. said to be a rare bird (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 202), and there are several examples in the Paris Museum procured by l’Abbé Fauire near Aomori in Northern Hondo. In the Pryer collection there are: two examples obtained by Mr. Snow from the Kurile Islands, and two others from Yokohama. In the British Museum there are two examples from Nagasaki presented by Mr. Ringer. 105. FRINGILLA KITTLITZI. (BONIN-ISLAND GREENFINCH.) Fringilla kitthtzi, Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 101. The Bonin-Island Greenfinch is about the size of the Japanese Greenfinch, but the crown and nape are olive (instead of brown, as in F. kawarchiba, or grey, as in F. sinica). It has also less yellow at the base of the tail-feathers than either of its allies. The Bonin-Island Greenfinch was discovered by Kittlitz in 1828, but was not regarded by its discoverer as distinct from the European species. Mr. Holst obtained three examples on one of the Parry Islands, and two on one of the Bailly Islands, all of which are in my collection. 106. MONTIFRINGILLA BRUNNEINUCHA. (JAPANESE SNOW-FINCH.) Fringilla (Linaria) brunneinucha, Brandt, Bull. Se. Acad. Imp. Sc. St. Péters- bourg, 1842, p. 252. The Japanese Snow-Finch is about the size of a Bullfinch (wing from carpal joint 4} inches). The wing-coverts, rump, upper tail- coverts, and underparts are wuch suffused with rose-pink in the male, and slightly so in the female. Figures: David and Oustalet, Oiseaux de la Chine, pl. 89. The Japanese Snow-Finch is only a winter visitor to Japan, generally appearing in large flocks (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 245). I have two examples collected by Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 450), and a third collected by Mr. Henson in the same locality. Mr. Fukushi obtained it in the Kurile Islands in July (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 174). FRINGILLIN A. 129 This is probably the southern limit of its breeding-range, which ex- tends to Kamtschatka and Eastern Siberia. It winters in Northern China, as well as Japan. It sometimes appears in winter in Central Hondo in great numbers (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 296). 107. PYRRHULA GRISEIVENTRIS. (ORIENTAL BULFINCH.) Pyrrhula griseiventris, Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool. 1841, p. 240. The Oriental Bulfinch differs from the Common Bulfinch in having the breast, belly, and flanks grey (sometimes slightly suffused with red) instead of bright brick-red. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 53, sub nomine Pyrrhula orientalis. The Oriental Bulfinch is a resident in Japan. I have two ex- amples collected by Wossnesenski on the Kurile Islands in July, and there are two others in the British Museum from the same locality. These are so much paler than Japanese examples that they have been separated (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xii. p. 450, pl. xi.) as Pyr- rhula griseiventris kurilensis. The typical form appears to be found both in Yezzo and near Yokohama, but in both localities together with others, in which the underparts are much suffused with rosy and the upper parts slightly so. Ifthe latter be subspecifically distinct, they may be called P. griseiventris rosacea. Mr. Whitely, who got both forms near Hakodadi in March, says (Ibis, 1867, p. 203) that this species was very abundant, but disappeared before summer. The range of this species is very restricted. The typical form has been found on the Island of Askold opposite Vladivostok, once or twice near Pekin, and once in the upper valley of the Ussuri, and the Roseate form on an island in the Bay of Okhotsk (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 101). It is quite possible that the roseate tint may be the result of eating some particular food, the Bulfinches being apparently specially sensitive to the influence of certain seeds. There are eight males in the Pryer collection of the typical colour from Yokohama, and four of the roseate form, besides six females. There is one male in the Swinhoe collection, from Hakodadi, of the roseate form, besides three females. There are two males in the British Museum of the typical colour from Yokohama, but none of K 1380 “PASSERES. the roseate form. In the same collection there is only one male of the typical colour from Yezzo, and four of the roseate form. Mr. Jouy obtained five adult males in Tate-yama in winter, four of which were more or less roseate on the breast, and in two of them the back was also roseate (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 293). The two forms certainly intergrade, and the appearance of an example of the typical form from Yezzo throws considerable doubt on the distinctness of their geographical ranges. 108. PASSER MONTANUS. (TREE-SPARROW.) Fringilla montana, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 824 (1766). The Tree-Sparrow is easily recognized by its chestnut-brown crown and nape, and by the large black patch in the middle of the white on the side of the head. The female resembles the male, but is slightly duller in colour, Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iui. pl. 178. The Tree-Sparrow is the Common Sparrow of the towns and villages of Japan (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 244), and was obtained probably at Nagasaki by the Siebold Expedition (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 89). There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, p. 145); and there are four in the Pryer collection from the neigh- bourhood of Yokohama, and nine from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands. The Tree-Sparrow is found throughout the Palearctic Region, from the British Islands to Japan. It is abundant everywhere near houses or towns in Central Hondo, breeding in the thatched roofs of the native houses (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 297). Eggs in the Pryer collec- tion do not differ from those obtained in the British Islands. Examples from the Loo-Choo Islands have been described as dis- tinct under the name of Passer saturatus (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1885, p. 19), but I am unable to distinguish them from the European species. The example described by Dr. Stejneger appears to have been in immature plumage. Examples collected by General Prjevalski at Lob Nor and other localities in Central Asia are so pale that they are almost worthy of being recognized as a desert form. FRINGILLIN 2. 131 109. PASSER RUTILANS. (RUSSET SPARROW.) Fringilla rutilans, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 588, fig. 2 (1836). The Russet Sparrow has the crown and rump chestnut-red in the male, and brown in the female. The throat is black in the male, and there is a buff eye-stripe extending to the nape in the female. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 50. The Russet Sparrow is doubtless a resident in Japan. It is not uncommon in Yezzo, and is occasionally brought into the Yokohama market (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 244). The example figured in the ‘Fauna Japonica’ as Passer russatus was probably obtained at Nagasaki. There are five examples in the Pryer collec- tion from Yokohama. This species has a very restricted range; it is found in Formosa and in the mountains of Central China, as far west as Moupin in Eastern Thibet. 110. EMBERIZA CIOPSIS. (BONAPARTE’S JAPANESE BUNTING.) Emberiza ciopsis, Bonaparte, Consp. Generum Avium, 1. p. 466 (1850). Bonaparte’s Japanese Bunting has no trace of yellow on the underparts, and the rump and upper tail-coverts are uniform rich chestnut. The combination of these two characters prevents it being confounded with most of the other Buntings which are known to visit Japan. The fact that the nape is almost as conspicuously streaked as the crown will probably complete the diagnosis. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 59 (male and female). Bonaparte’s Japanese Bunting is peculiar to Japan, and is the commonest Bunting on the islands. There is an example from Yezzo in the Swinhoe collection (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 161) ; and there are four-and-twenty from Yokohama in the Pryer collection. Mr. Ringer obtained it at Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 168); and it was observed in abundance by the officers of the Perry Expedition at Simoda (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 220). Dr. Henderson obtained it at Hakodadi in October 1857 (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 192). K2 132 PASSERES. It breeds in great abundance on Fuji-yama, making a nest on or near the ground of dried grass and leaves, lined with fine rootlets (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 298). Eggs in the Pryer collection closely resemble those of Emberiza cia and those of Emberiza cioides, being scrawled all over the larger end with fine hair-like streaks. Bonaparte’s Japanese Bunting is an island form of Brandt’s Bunting, Emberiza cioides, and is possibly only subspecifically distinct from it. The adult male differs from that of its continental ally in having the ear-coverts nearly black instead of russet-brown. ‘The female only differs from that of the continental species in having the throat and under tail-coverts more suffused with buff. Intermediate forms occur in Japan, but these may possibly be immature examples. Brandt’s Bunting is a resident in Eastern Siberia, and is the eastern representative of the Meadow-Bunting, Emberiza cia, a perfectly distinct species which ranges from Spain across Europe and Southern Siberia as far east as Lake Saissan, whence I have an example col- lected by General Prjevalski. 111. EMBERIZA YESSOENSIS. (SWINHOE’S JAPANESE BUNTING.) Scheenicola yessoensts, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 161. Swinhoe’s Japanese Bunting combines two characters, rump and upper tail-coverts uniform chestnut-buff and no trace of yellow on the underparts. Noue of the other Buntings which are known to occur in Japan possess both these characters except E. ciopsis, E. fucata, and E. rustica. From the males of these three species and from both sexes of the last mentioned, the entire absence of white on the throat is a sufficient distinction. From the females of the two first- mentioned species the fact that the nape is scarcely streaked (in marked contrast to the conspicuously streaked crown) is a good distinction. Figures: Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, pl. 1. fig. 2. Swinhoe’s Japanese Bunting is peculiar to Japan, and cannot be a very rare bird, as, in addition to the type in the Swinhoe collection obtained by Captain Blakiston near Hakodadi, there are eleven examples in the Pryer collection from the neighbourhood of Yoko- hama. Two other examples from Yezzo are in the Blakiston collec- FRINGILLINAE. 133 tion (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 42). It is principally known in the south as a winter visitor, but it breeds on Fuji-yama (Blakiston, Amended List of the Birds of Japan, p. 61). 112, EMBERIZA SCHGNICLUS. (REED-BUNTING.) Emberiza scheeniclus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 311 (1766). The male Reed-Bunting differs from all other Buntings known to visit Japan in having a white nuchal collar. The female closely resembles that of Eméeriza yessoensis, but is rather larger and much greyer, especially on the rump and upper tail-coverts. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 221 (females), pl. 222. fig. 1 (male) ; Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, pl. viii. fig. 2 (male in autumn plumage of eastern race). The Reed-Bunting is said to be only a summer visitor to Yezzo, and to the mountains in the more southerly Japanese Islands, descending to the plains in winter. There are two examples from Hakodadi (one of them the type of Schenicola pyrrhulina) in the Swinhoe collection, and there are twenty from the Yokohama game- market in the Pryer collection. The range of the Reed-Bunting extends eastwards from the British Islands, across Europe and Asia at least as far as the meridian of Calcutta. I found it common in the valley of the Yenesay, and General Prjevalski obtained it at Lob Nor. Taczanowski says that examples obtained by Dybowski in Kamtschatka are identical with the European bird, and it is probable that the range of this species across Siberia is continuous. At what point in its geographical distribution the bill begins to thicken is not known, but Radde remarks it in an example obtained by him near Tarei Nor. The Eastern race may be regarded as subspecifically distinct under the uame of Emberiza scheniclus palustris, on the ground that in the east the thick-billed birds are most numerous, whilst in the west the contrary is the case. It is not known that the Reed-Bunting of Japan differs in the slightest particular from its representative in the British Islands, except in having a slightly thicker bill, and in having rather fewer dark stripes on-the flanks. Both these characters are, however, very variable, and examples from Italy and Asia Minor may be found 134 PASSERES. which are undistinguishable from examples from Japan. It is abso- lutely impossible to regard the two forms as specifically distinct, and it is quite as absurd to place them in different genera as it would be to separate the Siberian Nutcracker from the Japanese Nutcracker on the same grounds. In the dark ages of Ornithology there was a superstition that a variation in the shape of the bill was necessarily a generic character, but no student of Darwin’s works can do other- wise than smile at such a theory. 113, EMBERIZA RUSTICA. (RUSTIC BUNTING.) Emberiza rustica, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 698 (1776). The Rustic Bunting differs from every other Bunting known to occur in Japan in having the breast and flanks broadly streaked with rich chestnut. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 58 (male adult and immature); Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 219 (male and female). The Rustic Bunting breeds in Yezzo and winters in the more southerly of the Japanese Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p- 243). There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hako- dadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 161); and there is one in the Paris Museum procured near Aomori, in the north of Hondo, by PAbbé Fauire. There are five examples in the Pryer collection from the neighbourhood of Yokohama. The range of the Rustic Bunting during the breeding-season extends across the Arctic regions from Lapland to Kamtschatka. Its winter-quarters appear to be confined to China. It can only be regarded as an accidental visitor to the British Islands. 114. EMBERIZA FUCATA. (GREY-HEADED BUNTING.) Emberiza fucata, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 698 (1776). The Grey-headed Bunting differs from all the other Buntings which are known to occur in Japan in having the throat (white in the male and buff in the female) surrounded by bold black streaks. FRINGILLINA. 135 Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 57 (male and female); Gould, Birds of Asia, v. pl. 9. The Grey-headed Bunting is a common winter visitor to the plains near Yokohama, retiring to the mountains and to Yezzo to breed (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 242). There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 161), where it had been procured seventeen years previously by Dr. Hen- derson (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 192). There are nine examples in the Pryer collection from the neighbourhood of Yokohama, and Mr. Ringer has obtained it at Nagasaki. Westward the range of this species extends, during the breeding- season, to Eastern Siberia and Northern China, and in winter to Southern China, Burma, and the plains of India. It is said to be a resident in the North-west Himalayas. 115. EMBERIZA SULPHURATA. (SIEBOLD’S BUNTING.) Emberiza sulphurata, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 100 (1847). Siebold’s Bunting differs from all the other Buntings known to occur in Japan by its combination of the two characters, chin, throat, and breast unstreaked yellow, and forehead, crown, and nape unstreaked olive-brown. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 60. Siebold’s Bunting is said to be a rare summer visitor to Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 203), but to be very common in the more southerly Japanese Islands. In the Pryer collection there are six examples from Yokohama, and I have a seventh collected by Mr. Heywood Jones on Fuji-yama. Siebold’s Bunting is said to leave Japan in autumn, and to winter in Formosa and Southern China. Tt is the commonest Bunting on Fuji-yama in summer, and builds in the fork of a small bush, making its nest of grass, lined with horsehair or the seed-stalks of moss (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1888, p. 299). Eggs in the Pryer collection closely resemble a common variety of the eggs of the Garden- Warbler with dark spots. 136 PASSERES. 116. EMBERIZA PERSONATA. (TEMMINCK’S JAPANESE BUNTING.) Emberiza personata, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 580 (1835). Temminck’s Japanese Bunting combines two characters, mantle russet-brown streaked with dark brown, and throat and breast yellow, streaked with brown in the female, which no other Japanese Buntings possess, except the females of Emberiza spodocephala and E. sul- phurata. The latter has an unstreaked yellow chin, throat, and breast. The male of H. personata has a black chin, and the female a streaked breast. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 59 B. Temminck’s Japanese Bunting is peculiar to the Japanese Islands. It has been recorded from Eturop, the most southerly of the Kurile Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Jap. 1882, p. 170). It is a summer visitor to Yezzo, and a few remain in that island during winter. In the more southerly Japanese Islands it is a resident. There is an example from Hakodadi collected by Captain Blakiston in the Swinhoe collection (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 161); and I have two others from the same locality collected by Mr. Henson. There are eight examples from Yokohama in the Pryer collection, and I have three examples from Nagasaki collected by Mr. Ringer. It was observed in abundance by the officers of the Perry Expedition at Simoda (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ti. p. 221) ; and it is the only Bunting recorded from the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p.174). It breeds abundantly on Fuji-yama. The nest is placed on the ground or in a tussock of grass, and is made of dried grass, lined with fine roots and horsehair (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 298). Eggs in the Pryer collection resemble richly marked examples of those of the Ortolan Bunting. Temminck’s Japanese Bunting is an island form of the Black- faced Bunting, Emberiza spodocephala, and is possibly only sub- specifically distinct from it. The adult male differs from that of its continental ally in having the lower throat and breast yellow instead of olive-grey. The female only differs from that of the continental species in having rather less white on the outer tail-feathers, but this is a somewhat variable character. Some of the intermediate forms from China have been referred to a continental race of E. personata (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xii. p. 522). FRINGILLINAE. 137 117. EMBERIZA SPODOCEPHALA. (BLACK-FACED BUNTING.) Emberiza spodocephala, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 698 (1776). The male Black-faced Bunting differs from all the other Buntings that are known to occur in Japan in having a uniform olive-grey throat and breast. The female scarcely differs from that of Emberiza personata, except in having much more white on the outer tail- feathers. Figures : Middendorff, Sibirische Reise, ii. pl. 13. figs. 5-8. The claim of the Black-faced Bunting to be regarded as a Japanese bird rests upon a single example, a male, with grey breast, shot by Mr. Jouy in January near Tokio (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 182). This species has a wide range, breeding in Siberia from the valley of the Yenesay eastwards, and wintering in the eastern Himalayas aud China. 118. EMBERIZA ELEGANS. (TEMMINCK’S YELLOW-BROWED BUNTING.) Emberiza elegans, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 583 (1835). Temminck’s Yellow-browed Bunting differs from all other Bunt- ings known to occur in Japan in having a conspicuous yellow stripe over each eye, which is almost as bright in the female as in the male. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 55 ; Gould, Birds of Asia, v. pl. 12. Temminck’s Yellow-browed Bunting is by no means a common bird in Japan. It has not hitherto been recorded from Yezzo, but there is an example in the Paris Museum procured by Abbé Fauire near Hakodadi. There are three examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and I have two others obtained by Mr. Ringer near Nagasaki. It is possibly a resident in Japan, but to Manchuria and the valley of the Amoor it is only a summer visitor, wintering in China. 138 PASSERES. 119. EMBERIZA RUTILA. (RUDDY BUNTING.) Emberiza rutila, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, iii. p.698 (1776). The Ruddy Bunting differs from all the other Buntings known to visit Japan by its combination of three characters: belly yellow, rump chestnut, mantle streaked. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 56 8B (male). The claim of the Ruddy Bunting to be regarded as a Japanese bird rests solely on a single example figured in the ‘ Fauna Japonica.’ It may be an accidental visitor on migration to the west of Japan, but no second example has been recorded. It is an East-Asiatic species, breeding in Eastern Siberia and North China, and wintering in South China, Cochin China, and Burma. 120. EMBERIZA AUREOLA. (YELLOW-BREASTED BUNTING.) Emberiza aureola, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, ii. p. 711 (1773). The male of the Yellow-breasted Bunting is easily recognized by its uniform chestnut back ; and the female is the only Bunting with yellow underparts (known to visit Japan), which has also the whole of the upper parts uniformly streaked. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 218. I have never seen an example of the Yellow-breasted Bunting from Japan, but it is occasionally found in Yezzo in summer (Blakis- ton and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p.170). It has been obtained on the south-east coast of Yezzo in May (Blakiston, Chry- santhemum, 1882, p. 426), and has once occurred near Yokohama (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 243). This Bunting has a wide range across Northern Europe and Asia. It winters in China and Burma. FRINGILLINA. 139 121. EMBERIZA VARIABILIS. (GREY BUNTING.) Emberiza vartabilis, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no, 588, fig. 2 (1885). The Grey Bunting differs from every other Bunting known to visit Japan in having no white on any of the tail-feathers, a character common to both sexes. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 56 (male and female). The Grey Bunting is probably only a summer visitor to Yezzo, but it is a resident in the more southerly islands of Japan. I have an example collected by Captain Blakiston from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 450), and a second obtained by Mr. Henson from the same locality. There are six examples in the Pryer collection from the neighbourhood of Yokohama, and I have two obtained by Mr. Ringer near Nagasaki. The Grey Bunting has a very restricted range. It has been three times recorded from Kamtschatka: in 1858 (Kittlitz, Denkwirdig- keiten, ii. p. 201), in 1881 (Dybowski, Journ. Orn. xxix. p. 184), and in 1885 (Stejneger, Orn. Expl. Comm. Isl. and Kamtschatka, p. 247) ; and once from the island of Askold (Taczanowski, Journ. Orn. 1881, p. 184). It must be admitted that the Grey Bunting is a somewhat aber- raut member of the genus, and it is not easy to trace its relationship to the other species. It has been recently placed (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xii. p. 566) in the genus Fringillaria, principally composed of African Buntings, which differ from the true Buntings in having no white on the outer tail-feathers. To this genus Emberiza striolata is also referred, a species which appears to be much nearer related to #. cia than to EH. variabilis. The Grey Bunting appears to me to be more probably a Spizella allied to S. atrigularis from California, if it be not nearer allied to the typical Buntings. The determination of the genera in the subfamily Fringilline is exceptionally difficult. On the whole, the pattern of colour and the variations due to age, sex, and season, appear to be of greater generic value than slight modifications of the form or size of the bill. 140 PASSERES. 122. EMBERIZA NIVALIS. (SNOW-BUNTING.) Emberiza nivalis, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 808 (1766). The Snow-Bunting differs from all the other Buntings which are known to occur in Japan in having the three outer tail-feathers on each side for the most part white. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 225. The Snow-Bunting is a rare or accidental visitor to Yezzo during winter. Only two examples are recorded (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 172), one of which I have had an opportunity of examining, thanks to the kindness of Captain Blakiston. I have also two examples, obtained by Mr. Snow, from the Kurile Islands, a locality which it has long been known to frequent (Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. 11. p. 33). It is a circumpolar bird, breeding in the Arctic Regions above the limit of forest-growth, and wandering southwards in winter. 123. EMBERIZA LAPPONICA. (LAPLAND BUNTING.) Fringilla lapponica, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 817 (1766). The Lapland Bunting differs from the other Buntings found in Japan in having the rump and upper tail-coverts grey, with nearly black centres to each feather. The male has a chestnut nape and a black throat. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 223. It is not known that the Lapland Bunting has occurred in Japan, but I have an example, an adult male in full breeding-plumage, obtained by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands. The Lapland Bunting is a circumpolar bird, breeding on the tun- dras of both hemispheres beyond the limit of forest-growth, and wintering in great numbers in Eastern Mongolia and North China. It is a very rare winter visitor to the British Islands. HIRUNDININ.E. ltl HIRUNDININZ. First primary obsolete; bill broad, flat, and notched ; tertials not reaching beyond the middle of the wing. The Swallows are an almost cosmopolitan group of birds, and number about eighty species, of which five are represented in the Japanese Empire. 124. HIRUNDO RUSTICA. (CHIMNEY-SWALLOW.) HMirundo rustica, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 343 (1766). The Chimney-Swallow has a very deeply-forked tail. In the typical form the throat is chestnut, bounded below by a black band. In the Eastern race the chestnut extends below into the black band, which it divides in the middle. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 160. fig. i. (typical race). The Eastern race of the Barn-Swallow is a common summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands. There are several examples sent by Captain Blakiston from Hakodadi in the Swinhoe collection (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 151); and there are four examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The examples obtained by the Siebold Expedition were probably procured at Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 31) ; and Mr. Holst procured a female on the Bonin Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 102). The breeding-range of the Barn-Swallow extends from the British Islands across Europe to Turkestan and West Siberia. Further east it ranges in a slightly modified form through Mongolia and the Himalayas, across China to Japan. The Eastern race of the Chimney-Swallow differs from the Western race in having the black pectoral band almost interrupted in the middle by the chestnut of the throat. It was described as a distinct species as long ago as 1786, under the name of Hirundo gutturalis (Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr. ii. p. 96); butas the two races completely intergrade, it can only be regarded as subspecifically distinct under the name of Hirundo rustica gutturalis. The Barn-Swallows of Japan build in the native houses, where one or more little wooden shelves are placed for their accommodation, jast inside the door on one of the rafters of the ceiling, and where 142 PASSERES. they are jealously guarded from molestation (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 290). The eggs do not differ from those of the European Barn-Swallow (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 189). In immature examples the upper parts are bronzed with green instead of purple. 125. HIRUNDO JAVANICA. (BUNGALOW-SWALLOW.) Hirundo javanica, Sparrman, Mus. Carls. ii. pl. 100 (1789). The Bungalow-Swallows closely resemble the Chimney-Swallows, but are smaller, and the tail is only slightly forked. They further differ from them in having no dark band across the breast below the chestnut throat, and in having the white of the rest of the under- parts replaced by brown. Figures: Gould, Birds of Asia, i. pl. 82 (under the name of Aypurolepis domicola). A large race of the Bungalow-Swallow (wing from carpal joint 4°6 inches instead of 4°4 to 4:0) has been recorded from Okinawa- shima, the largest island of the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands. It is said to be green instead of blue on the upper parts, but this is also the case with examples from Ceylon, Borneo, and Lombock. It has been described as a distinct species under the name of Chelidon namiyei (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p- 646), but it can scarcely be regarded as more than a large race of the Indian species under the name of Hirundo javanica namiyei. 126. HIRUNDO ALPESTRIS. (MOSQUE-SWALLOW.) Hirundo alpestris, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, ii. p. 709 (1771). The Mosque-Swallows closely resemble the Chimney-Swallows, but they are easily recognized by the chestnut rump and the striped underparts. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 11 (under the name of Hirundo alpestris japonica). The Japanese race of the Mosque-Swallow is a summer visitor to the southern islands, but has not been recorded from Yezzo. There HIRUNDININ &. 143 are four skins in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. It builds a long bottle-shaped nest under the eaves of buildings, and lays six white eggs (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 231, no. 173). The Mosque-Swallow of Asia Minor, Hirundo rufula, builds a similar nest in caves, and lays similar eggs. The Mosque-Swallow of South Africa, Hirundo cucullata, builds a similar nest, often under the verandahs of houses, and also lays white eggs, The arrival of the Hume Collection in the British Museum has been of invaluable service to ornithology, and has made many groups, which were formerly in hopeless confusion, comparatively easy to arrange in a satisfactory manner. Of these the Asiatic Mosque- Swallows are a conspicuous example, and I find myself obliged to modify the opinions formerly published (Seebohm, Ibis, 1883, p. 167). The Japanese Mosque-Swallow belongs to the group in which the colour of the rump is uniform (not gradated). This group appears to contain four species, though it is very probable that some of them may hereafter be found to intergrade. Two of these species have narrow streaks on the underparts, whilst those on the rump are almost or quite obsolete. One of them is large (wing 5:2 to 4°9 inches), somewhat rufous on the underparts, and may be called Hirundo alpestris, breeding in South Siberia, and wintering in Mongolia and Thibet. The other is smaller (wing 4°5 to 4°2 inches), not quite so rufous on the underparts, and may be called Hirundo erythropygia, breeding in the Himalayas and wintering in the plains of India. The other two species have broad streaks on the underparts, whilst those on the rump, though narrow, are very conspicuous. One of the second pair is large (wing 5:4 to 4°9 inches), with little or no rufous on the underparts, and may be called Hirundo striolata, breeding from Assam across Southern China to Formosa, and in winter ranging as far south as Java. The other is smaller (wing 4°8 to 4°4 inches), more rufous on the underparts, and may be called Hirundo nipa- lensis, breeding in the Himalayas across North China to Japan, and wintering in Burma, Flores, and doubtless other islands of the Malay Archipelago. I am, however, of Mr. Sharpe’s opinion (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. x. p. 159), that these four forms intergrade, and can only be regarded as subspecies of Hirundo alpes- tris, in which case the Japan examples must be called Hirundo alpes- tris nipalensis. The extremes appear to be very distinct, but H. alpestris probably intergrades with H. erythropygia, which appears completely to intergrade with H. nipalensis, which again appears to intergrade with H. striolata. 14-4. PASSERES. 127. CHELIDON DASYPUS. (BLACK-CHINNED MARTIN.) Chelidon dasypus, Bonaparte, Consp. Generum Avium, i. p. 343 (1850). The Black-chinned Martin has a much less forked tail than the European House-Martin; and the black on the head descends farther below the eye to the upper part of the ear-coverts and the base of the chin. Figures : Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, pl. 7. fig. 1. The Black-chinned Martin is the Japanese representative of our House-Martin, and is a very common summer visitor to all the islands, breeding on the cliffs and in the caves. It was first obtained in Japan by Captain Blakiston, and erroneously described as a new species under the name of Chelidon blakistoni (Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 8320). There are several examples from Hakodadi in the Swinhoe collection (Whitely, [bis, 1867, p. 196), and there is a large series in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. It spends its summers in Japan and winters in Borneo. It breeds in considerable numbers on the sides of an inaccessible cliff on Fuji-yama, above the limit of forest-growth (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 290). Eggs in the Pryer collection do not differ from those of the European House-Martin. 128. COTYLE RIPARIA. (SAND-MARTIN.) Hirundo riparia, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 344 (1766). The Sand-Martin is a smaller bird than any of the other Swallows of Japan. Its upper parts and a band across the breast are brown ; the rest of the underparts are nearly white. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iii. pl. 163. The Sand-Martin is a summer visitor to Japan, but is nowhere very abundant (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 231). I have four examples sent me by Captain Blakiston from Yezzo (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 830); and there are two examples in the Pryer col- lection from Yokohama. The Sand-Martin is a circumpolar bird, breeding in the British Islands and across Europe and South Siberia to Japan, whence its range extends on the American continent as far east as Baffin’s Bay. EURYLEMI,—TROCHILI. 145 Suborder II. LURVLAMT, Palate egithognathous ; young not passing through a complete downy stage; flexor longus hullucis leading to hallux after sending down a tendon to the flexor perforans digitorum, which leads to the three front digits. There are about a dozen species of Broadbills, which are confined to the Oriental Region. They range as far as Borneo and Siam, but do not reach the Japanese Empire. Suborder IIT. TROCHILI. Young born helpless, and not passing through a complete downy stage ; palate schizognathous; nasals holorhinal; front plantar leading to front toes, hind plantar leading to hallux. F} 4 Hy A z e E : Deep plantar tendons of Putagona gigas. There are about 400 species of Humming-birds, which are confined to the New World. L 146 SCANSORES. Suborder IV. SCANSORES. Fourth digit reversed ; front plantar leading to third digit only ; spinal feather-tract well defined on the neck by lateral bare tracts, and continuing single on the upper back, but divided into two branches on the lower back. Deep plantar tendons of Picus martius. The Scansores appear to be a natural group of birds consisting of half a dozen families, and rather more than 600 species. Three of these families—the Rhamphastide or Toucans, the Galbulide or Jacamars, and the Bucconide or Puff-birds—are exclusively Neo- tropical; a fourth, the Capitonide or Barbets, is not only Neotropical but also Ethiopian and Oriental ; a fifth, the Indicatoride or Honey- Guides, is Ethiopian and Oriental; whilst the sixth, the Picide or ‘Woodpeckers, is almost cosmopolitan. The Picide is the only family belonging to the Scansores which is represented in the Japanese Empire. The genera and subgenera of Japanese Woodpeckers may be diagnosed in the following manner :— SCANSORES. 147 Distance between nasal grooves ( Dryocopus. at nostrils one third the width of bill. Reversed toe shortest.......... Second primary at least 10 °/, longer than longest tail-feather. Ae Reversed toe longest. Distance Tyngipicus. First primary less than one third between nasal grooves at nos- Pious trils more than one half the } , width of bill .............. keeeees Thriponax. Angle of mandible halfway be- Gecinus .. : ; tween nostrils and tip of bill. of second. The only clue we possess to enable us to form an opinion of the relative value of these characters is their constancy at different ages. The characters at the left appear to be as much developed in the young as in the adult, whilst those on the right vary considerably with age. It would be very easy still further to multiply the sub- genera, by the use of equally important characters ; but the interests of science will probably be best served by restricting the genera in the following manner :— Gecinus. Second primary at least 10 °%/ longer than longest tail-feather. Distance between nasal groove at ( Iyngipicus. nostrils at least one third the | width of bill. Angle of man- dible about halfway ees eye and tip of bill .......... | Picus. 129. GECINUS AWOKERA. (JAPANESE GREEN WOODPECKER.) Picus awokera, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 585 (1886), The Japanese Green Woodpecker may be easily distinguished from the Grey-headed Green Woodpecker by the red patch on the black malar stripe, which is also found in the male of G. viridis. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 36 (male and female). The Japanese Green Woodpecker is peculiar to Japan. It is not found in Yezzo, where its place is taken by the Grey-headed Green Woodpecker, but it is a resident in all the southern islands. There are examples in the Paris Museum procured in the north of Hondo L2 148 SCANSORES. by l’Abbé Fauire. There are eight examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama; and Mr. Ringer has obtained it near Nagasaki (Blakiston, Am. List Birds of Japan, p. 46). The Japanese Green Woodpecker is intermediate in the amount of black on the sides of its head between G. viridis and G. canus; and in the barring of the lower half of the underparts resembles the young of those two species and the adult of G. vaillanti. If the plumage of the young be regarded as an index to the plumage of recent ancestors, then we may assume that the Algerian Green Woodpecker and the Japanese Green Woodpecker have retained to a large extent the barring on the underparts characteristic of the common ancestor, and that the Green Woodpeckers of Europe, Siberia, Yezzo, and North China have more or less completely lost these bars in the adult. 180. GECINUS CANUS. (GREY-HEADED GREEN WOODPECKER.) Picus canus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 434 (1788). The Grey-headed Green Woodpecker never has a red patch on the black malar stripe, and when adult has no dark bars on the under- parts. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 95. The Grey-headed Green Woodpecker is a resident in Yezzo, where the earliest recorded Japanese examples were taken in 1861 (Blakiston, Ibis, 1862, p. 825). It is unknown in Southern Japan, its place being taken by the Japanese Green Woodpecker. There are two examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 451); and there is an example in the Pryer collection from the same locality. The range of the Grey-headed Green Woodpecker extends west- wards from Yezzo and North China across Siberia into Europe; but although this species breeds in Scandinavia, Luxembourg, and Spain, it is not known to have occurred in the British Islands, Dr. Stejneger regards the Grey-headed Green Woodpeckers from Japan as subspecifically distinct from those found on the mainland, under the name of Picus canus yessoensis (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 106). He asserts that the head is much greener, that the underparts are paler, and that in the male the SCANSORES, 149 black streaks on the nape are longer than is the case with the typical form. I am unable to detect the slightest difference between Euro- pean and Japanese examples. On the other hand, Siberian examples are sometimes so remarkably grey, and so devoid of streaks on the nape, that it seems quite possible that the Picus canus perpallidus of the same author may be recognized when sufficient material for comparison has been obtained. 131. PICUS MARTIUS. (GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER.) Picus martius, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 173 (1766). The Great Black Woodpecker is a large bird (wing from carpal joint about 9 inches); and is black all over, with the crown and nape red in the male and the nape only in the female. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 274. The Great Black Woodpecker is a resident in Yezzo, but does not occur south of the Straits of Tsugaru. It is common in the woods near Hakodadi (Blakiston, Ibis, 1862, p. 825). There are two examples in the Swinhoe collection (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 451), one in the Pryer collection, and I have a fine example collected by Mr. Henson—all of them from Hakodadi. It is doubtful whether the Great Black Woodpecker has ever occurred in the British Islands, but its range extends from Scandi- navia across Europe and Southern Siberia to Japan. 132. PICUS RICHARDSI. (TRISTRAM’S WOODPECKER.) Dryocopus richardsi, Tristram, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 386. Tristram’s Woodpecker is a large bird (wing from carpal joint nearly 10 inches). It is black, with the lower breast and belly, the lower back and rump, under wing-coverts and axillaries, and the base and tips of the primaries white. Figures: Tristram, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, pl. 31. Tristram’s Woodpecker is only known from a single example, which was procured by Captain Richards on the island of Tsusima 150 SCANSORES. in the Straits of Corea. It appears to be most nearly related to Picus feddeni from the Burma peninsula, and to Picus kalinowskii from the Corean peninsula. Picus richardst. These three Woodpeckers and half a dozen others form a compact little subgenus, to which the name of Thriponax has been applied. They agree with all the species of the genus Picus in the position of the nasal grooves, and of the angle of the mandible, as well as in the length of the tail; but they differ from Dryocopus and typical Picus in the comparative length of their toes. In typical Picus the reversed toe is the longest ; in Dryocopus the reversed toe is equal in length to the middle toe; whilst in Thriponaw (as in the genus Gecinus) the reversed toe is shorter than the middle toe. Somewhat the same relation of the subgenera of Picus to each other and to Gecinus is also observable in the distance between the nasal grooves. SCANSORES. 151 In typical Picus this distance at the nostrils is more than half the width of the bill ; in Dryocopus and Thriponaz about a third ; whilst in Gecinus it is less than a third. 133. PICUS NOGUCHII. (PRYER’S WOODPECKER.) Picus noguchii, Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 178. Pryer’s Woodpecker is medium sized (wing from carpal joint 52 inches). It is black above and reddish brown below, and it has a few white spots on the primaries, Figures: Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, pl. 7. Picus noguchit. Pryer’s Woodpecker is only known from a single example obtained by Mr. Pryer’s collectors on the largest island of the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands. It has a longer first primary than is usual in Picus, and the nostrils are also less concealed; but possibly both these characters may be affected by its extreme youth. 152 SCANSORES. The reversed toe is too long and the tail is much too long for the genus Blythipicus or Lepocestes, as suggested by Dr. Stejneger (Zeitsch. ges. Orn. 1887, p. 172). I prefer to retain it in the genus Picus, under the subgeneric term of Sapheopipo, as proposed by Mr. Hargitt—a subgenus which may possibly have to be abandoned when fully adult examples have been examined. 134. PICUS LEUCONOTUS. (WHITE-BACKED WOODPECKER.) Picus leuconotus, Bechstein, Naturg. Deutschl. ii. p. 1034 (1805). The White-backed Woodpecker is a large bird (wing from carpal joint about 6 inches), and is easily distinguished from the other Japanese species by the crimson on its under tail-coverts extending also to the belly. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 279 (typical form). The White-backed Woodpecker is a resident in all the Japanese Islands. The earliest record of its occurrence in Japan is that of an example procured in Yezzo in October 1861 (Blakiston, Ibis, 1862, p. 825). There are two examples in the Swinhoe collection from South Yezzo (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 451); and I have an example collected by Mr. Henson at Hakodadi on the 13th of April. There are eighteen examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The range of the White-backed Woodpecker extends westwards from Japan across Siberia into Europe; but although it reaches Norway, Germany, and Spain, this species is not known to have occurred in the British Islands. The White-backed Woodpecker is subject to much climatic varia- tion. The Arctic race ranges from Russia across Southern Siberia to the mouth of the Amoor. The amount of white on the upper parts, especially on the tertials, is at least double that on examples of the typical form from Norway, and entitles it to rank as an ex- cellent subspecies under the name of Picus leuconotus cirris. Dr. Stejneger has separated the race found in Southern Japan under the name of Dryobates subcirris (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 113). In the amount of white on the upper parts they agree with examples from Yezzo and the Island of Askold in being intermediate between the Arctic and the typical form; but SCANSORES, 153 whilst the latter differ very slightly from the typical form in the colour of the underparts, the race which inhabits Southern Japan differs from all other races of this species in having the white confined to the throat, and the crimson on the belly much more developed and graduating on the breast into brownish buff. This race inter- grades with the Yezzo race, and can only claim subspecific rank as Picus leuconotus subcirris. 135. PICUS NAMIYEI. (STEJNEGER’S WOODPECKER.) Dryobates namiyei, Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 116. Stejneger’s Woodpecker is rather less than the White-backed Woodpecker (wing from carpal joint 52 inches), which it very closely resembles in colour, except that the white is everywhere much reduced in extent. Figures: Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, pl. 2. Stejneger’s Woodpecker is only known from a single example in the Tokio Museum, which was obtained at Yamato, south-west of Osaka (about halfway between Nagasaki and Yokohama), and which has been examined and described by Dr. Stejneger (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 133). It is of the same size as Picus leuconotus subcirris (wing 5°75 inches), but in colour it comes nearest to Picus insularis from Formosa. The latter is a smaller bird (wing 5-4 to 5:2 inches), but has more white on the back and on the wings. Stejneger’s Woodpecker agrees with Picus insularis in the colour of the underparts, which are much more streaked with black on the breast and flanks than in Picus leuconotus. It differs from Picus insularis in the upper parts in having broad instead of narrow black tips to the feathers of the lower back. Its specific rank is very doubtful, but until a series has been obtained it is impossible to say with which species it intergrades, 136. PICUS MAJOR. (GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER.) Picus major, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 176 (1766). The Great Spotted Woodpecker is a medium-sized species (wing 154 SCANSORES, from carpal joint about 53 inches) with no white on the back except on the scapulars; and the crimson on the underparts scarcely ex- tending above the under tail-coverts. Figures : Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 275 (typical race). The Great Spotted Woodpecker was first recorded as a Japanese bird on the authority of Mr. Heine, who obtained it at Hakodadi in May 1854, during the Perry Expedition (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 222). Other examples were recorded from the same locality, obtained in October 1857 by Dr. Henderson during the cruise of the ‘ Portsmouth’ (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1858, p. 195), and the characters in which they differed from the European form were pointed out. It appears to be generally distributed in the Japanese Islands ; I have three examples obtained by Mr. Snow in the Kurile Islands, and five examples obtained by Captain Blakiston in Yezzo, where it appears to be a resident, as the dates on the skins are February, March, May, and November. There are twelve examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The range of the Great Spotted Woodpecker extends westwards from Japan across Siberia and Europe to the British Islands. The variations in the plumage of this species are considerable and appear to be climatic. The arctic race extends across Lapland and Siberia, and may be called Picus major cissa. The throat, breast, and flanks are pure white, and the terminal half of the tertiaries is black. The typical form inhabiting Southern Scandinavia and Western Europe is an intermediate one, the extreme of the first character being found in the Caucasus: this race is called Picus major poelzami, and has the throat, breast, and flanks chocolate-brown. The extreme of the second character is found in Japan: this race is called Picus major japonicus (Seebohm, Ibis, 1883, p. 24), and has the tertials crossed by three broad white bands, only interrupted by a black shaft-line, one of the bands being nearly terminal. The young in first plumage of the Japanese race differs so much from that of the west European that the two races may possibly prove to be specifically distinct. The young of our birds have nearly uniform buffish-white underparts, whilst those of the Japanese race are profusely streaked with black on the flanks, and more or less so on the throat and breast. My examples from the Kurile Islands and from Yezzo are on an average whiter on the underparts than those from Southern Japan, but they do not differ from them in the amount of white on the SCANSORES. 155 tertials. They vary considerably in both respects in both localities. An example from Sakhalien, collected by Dr. Schrenck, leads, through an example from the Amoor, up to the arctic race. Dr. Stejneger regards the Great Spotted Woodpeckers of Yezzo as specifically distinct from those of Hondo (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 109) on the ground that the latter are darker on the underparts, and have much less white on the scapulars. Examples from the Kurile Islands and from Yezzo are on an average slightly whiter on the underparts than birds from Southern Japan, but in the amount of white on the scapulars they do not differ. The scapulars are always white with concealed black bases. It is the commonest Woodpecker in the mountains of Central Hondo (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 307). 137. PICUS MINOR. (LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.) Picus minor, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 176 (1766). The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a small species (wing from carpal joint about 3} inches), with the front part of the crown white (suffused with red in the male) and with the hinder part of the crown and the nape black. Figures : Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 282. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a resident on Yezzo ; but is not known to have occurred in Southern Japan. I have an example from Hakodadi, collected by Captain Blakiston (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 29) on the 11th of May. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker has a very wide range from the Azores and the British Islands into Algeria, and across Europe and Siberia to Kamtschatka and the north island of Japan. With such an extensive distribution it is not surprising that it may be sub- divided into various climatic races. The arctic race extends across Lapland and Siberia, and may be called Picus minor pipra. The underparts, with the exception of a few dark streaks on the under tail-coverts, are pure white, and the black transverse bars on the lower back and rump are very obscurely indicated. If the typical form be that which occurs in Southern Scandinavia (which was pre- 156 SCANSORES. sumably the one described by Linneus), it scarcely differs from the race found in Japan, which is by no means white on the underparts, is streaked on the breast and flanks, as well as on the under tail- coverts, and is more barred on the lower back and rump than Siberian examples (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 86). In the British Islands and in Southern Europe all these characters are more pronounced, the extreme dark form, Picus minor danfordi, occurring in Asia Minor. 138. IYNGIPICUS KISUKI. (TEMMINCK’S PIGMY WOODPECKER.) Picus kisuki, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, text to no. 585 (1836). Temminck’s Pigmy Woodpecker may be best distinguished by its brown forehead and crown. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 37. Temminck’s Pigmy Woodpecker is found on all the Japanese Islands, including the Loo-Choo Islands, and also occurs in Man- cburia and on the Corean Peninsula. Even within this small range it is subject to considerable local variation. The typical form was originally described from the island of Kiusiu, whose name it bears, and whence I have examined three examples collected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki. On the main island and on Yezzo a larger and paler form occurs, Iyngipicus kizuki seebohmi (Hargitt, Ibis, 1884, p. 100), of which there is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hako- dadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 451), and five examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. This is the form which has occurred on the Island of Askold and in the valley of the Ussuri, but examples from these localities are on an average larger than those from Japan. There are three examples in the Pryer collection from the Loo-Choo Islands, which are smaller and darker than the typical form, and to which I have given the name of Iyngipicus kisuki nigrescens (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 177). I have also an example of the typical form col- lected by Mr. Heywood Jones on Fuji-yama, two collected by Mr. Owston at Yokohama, one collected by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands, and one collected by Mons. Kalinowski in the valley of the Ussuri. They vary considerably in size, as the following measure- ments of the length of the wing from the carpal joint testify :-— SCANSORES. 157 in. Ussuri. . . . . 38°55 Kuriles . . . . 85 Yezzo . . .. . 34 Yokohama .. . 3845 to 3-2 Nagasaki. . . . 3:2 Loo-Choo Islands . 3°2 to 3:1 All my Yokohama examples (eight), including a breeding female, agree in colour and markings with the skin from Yezzo, and not with that from Nagasaki. There can be little doubt that Temminck’s Pigmy Woodpecker is most nearly related to I. pygmeus and its climatic races, which range from the Himalayas across China, Hainan, and Formosa, to Askold and the valley of the Ussuri. It agrees with them in having black upper tail-coverts and central tail-feathers, but it differs from them in having the white superciliary stripe separated by a brown band from the white sides of the neck, and in having the nape and upper back brown like the crown instead of black. As no species of Iyngipicus is known to occur north of the Amoor, J. kisuki must be regarded as a tropical species which long ago emigrated from South China to Japan. It almost invariably accompanies flocks of Tits, associating with them in perfect harmony, and uttering its warning cry geed, geed, as it moves from tree to tree (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 308). 139. IYNX TORQUILLA. (WRYNECK.,) Yunx torquilla, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 172 (1766). The Wryneck is a small bird (wing from carpal joint 3°5 to 3:2 inches). It is barred or spotted all over with dark brown or grey upon a white or buff ground. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 289. The Wryneck is found in all the Japanese Islands, but is probably only a summer visitor to Yezzo. There are two examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 162), and one in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. Mr. Ringer has sent examples to the Norwich Museum obtained at Nagasaki, where 158 UPUPH. those procured by the Siebold expedition were probably obtained (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 75). The breeding-range of the Wryneck extends from the British Islands across Europe and Southern Siberia to Japan. This species also breeds in the Himalayas. Japanese examples have been described as distinct from the European and Asiatic species under the name of Yunwx japonica (Bonaparte, Consp. Generum Avium, i. p. 112). It is alleged that they are smaller and paler than the typical form, but there does not seem to be any foundation for the statement. Suborder V. UPUPZE. Plantars passerine; episternal process perforated to receive the feet of the coracoids ; palate desmognathous. The Upupz consist of two small families—the Upupidee (10 species), which are found in the Palearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions ; and the Irrisoridz (12 species), only found in the Ethiopian Region. Pterylosis of Upupa epops Pterylosis of Upupa epops (upper parts). (under parts). UPUPH.—TROGONES. 159 140. UPUPA EPOPS. (HOOPOE.) Upupa epops, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 183 (1766). The Hoopoe, with its long curved bill and its conspicuous crest, is too well known to need description. Figures : Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 298. The sole claim of the Hoopoe to be regarded as a Japanese bird rests upon a single example in the possession of Captain Blakiston, which was obtained off the south-east coast of Yezzo, and which he kindly sent me for examination (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 36). The Hoopoe is not yet quite exterminated in the British Islands, and its breeding-range extends across Europe and Southern Siberia to the Himalayas and China. Order TROGONES. Feet heterodactyle ; first and second digits directed backwards, third and fourth forwards; hind plantar (flexor longus hallucis) divi- ding into two tendons at the foot of the tarsus, leading to the two hind toes, front plantar (flexor perforans digitorum) also dividing into two tendons, leading to the two front toes. Suborder VI. TROGONES. The Trogones consist of one suborder only, which comprises the Trogons, a group of about 60 species, distributed in the Neo- tropical, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions, but not extending to Japan, though one species reaches the Philippine Islands. 160 COLUMB&. Order COLUMBZ:. Palate schizognathous ; nasals schizorhinal ; young born helpless. Suborder VII. COLUMBZA. The Pigeons are so isolated a group of birds that the suborder may fairly claim ordinal rank. There are nearly 400 species contained in. this almost cosmopolitan group, but with the exception of about a score which inhabit the Nearctic and Palearctic Regions, they are all tropical or subtropical. / Most of the Japanese Pigeons belong to tropical genera. 141. COLUMBA LIVIA. (BLUE ROCK-PIGEON.) Columba livia, Brisson, Orn. i. p. 82 (1760); Bonnaterre, Table Encycl. et Méthod. i. p. 227 (1790). The Rock-Pigeon of Japan is a very dark bird, and varies greatly in the colour of its belly and lower back. The former varies from dark grey to pale grey, and the latter from nearly black to nearly white. The Rock-Dove of Japan, like that of Siberia, appears to be a feral bird. There are three examples in the Pryer collection from Yoko- hama. It is said to breed in a cave on Eno-sima (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 227) ; and Captain Rodgers obtained examples on the Loo-Choo Islands (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1862, p. 320). 142. TURTUR ORIENTALIS. (EASTERN TURTLE-DOVE.) Columba orientalis, Latham, Index Orn. ii. p. 606 (1790). The Eastern Turtle-Dove is one of the medium-sized Japanese Columbz (wing from carpal joint 73 to 7 inches). It may be easily recognized by the broad chestnut-brown margins of its dark-centred scapulars and tertials. COLUMBA. 161 Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. si B (as Columba gelastis). The Eastern Turtle-Dove has been observed on Eturop, one of the Kurile Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 129), and is a summer visitor to Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p- 204). There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hako- dadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 162), whence it was procured by the Perry Expedition twenty years previously (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 222). There are seven examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. Captain Rodgers obtained it on the Loo-Choo Islands (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1862, p. 320) ; and there is an example in the Pryer collection from the central group of those islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 179). Examples from the southern group of the Loo-Choo Islands have been described as distinct under the name of Turtur stimpsoni (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 399). They are said to be deeper in colour than those from Japan. This is probably only individual variation, as the example in the Pryer collection from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands is not so deep in colour as many of those from Japan, and agrees in every respect with an example from Hakodadi. The Eastern Turtle-Dove is the eastern representative of our Common Turtle-Dove (Turtur auritus), and is as widely distributed in the temperate parts of the Eastern Palearctic Region as its British ally is in the temperate parts of the Western Palzarctic Region. In the Eastern species the under tail-coverts and the pale terminal band across the tail and the tips of the feathers on the sides of the neck are lavender-grey, instead of white or nearly so. The southern range of this species extends through China, Cochin China, and Burma, into India and Ceylon; but in Nepal, Turkestan, and South- west Siberia the under tail-coverts and the bar across the tail are frequently almost as pale as in the Western form (which also reaches Turkestan), though the lavender-grey tips of the feathers on the sides of the neck are retained. This local race may be called Turtur orientalis ferrago. It has been-stated that the Japanese birds are larger than those from China and India, and ought therefore to be regarded as distinct under the name of Turtur gelastes of Temminck ; but this general- ization has been arrived at from the measurement of too small a series. The length of wing from carpal joint varies in twelve Japanese examples from 7:8 to 7:2 inches, and in twenty-two Indian and Chinese examples from 7°9 to 71 inches. M 162 COLUMBA. The Eastern Turtle-Dove has been recorded more than once as an accidental visitor to Scandinavia, and an example was shot at Scar- borough in the autumn of 1889. In all these cases the birds were in first autumn plumage. 143. TURTUR RISORIUS. (COMMON INDIAN DOVE.) Columba risoria, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 285 (1766). The Common Indian Dove is less than the Eastern Turtle-Dove (wing from carpal jot 7 to 63 inches). It may easily be distin- guished from the other Japanese Columbe by its uniform brownish- grey scapulars and tertials. Figures: Jardine’s Nat. Libr., Pigeons, pl. 17; Dresser, Birds of Europe, vii. pl. 464. fig. 2. The Common Indian Dove is a summer visitor to Southern Japan, but has not been recorded from Yezzo (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, p. 334). There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Yokohama (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, p. 145), and there are three in the Pryer col- lection from the same locality. The Common Indian Dove has a wide distribution from Turkey and Asia Minor across India, Ceylon, Burma, and China, to Japan ; and Schrenck records a single example from the Lower Amoor. It must be regarded as a tropical species whose summer range extends to the extreme south of the Palearctic Region. 144. TURTUR HUMILIS. (CHINESE RED DOVE.) Columba humilis, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, nos. 258, 259 (1824), The Chinese Red Dove is a small bird (wing from carpal joint about 53 inches). Its wing-coverts, scapulars, and tertials are vinous-red. The Chinese Red Dove has very small claims to be regarded as a Japanese bird. An example was obtained by Mr. Owston from a dealer at Yokohama, who asserted that it had been shot in the neighbourhood (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p.179). The skin is in my COLUMBA. 163 collection, and shows no marks of having been in confinement; on the contrary, it appears to have been shot in the wings. The Chinese Red Dove is a resident in South China and Formosa, the Philippine Islands, and the Burma Peninsula, but is replaced in India by a very nearly allied species, Turtur tranquebaricus. 145. TRERON SIEBOLDI. (JAPANESE GREEN PIGEON.) Columba sieboldi, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 549 (1835). The Japanese Green Pigeon differs from its ally on the Loo-Choo Islands in the great extent of white on its belly, and in the yellowness of the green on its head and breast. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 60 p. The Japanese Green Pigeon is peculiar to Japan. It is a summer visitor to Yezzo, but in Southern Japan it is a resident. There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 204), and there are six examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. Mr. Ringer has obtained it at Nagasaki (Blakiston, Am. List Birds Japan, p. 44), whence he has sent an example to the Norwich Museum. It is tolerably abundant on Fuji-yama, but exceedingly shy, and is very fond of feeding on wild cherries (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 314). In Yezzo it prefers the wooded bluffs near the sea, and frequently alights on the sandy shore (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 129). It has a long and varied coo. The Japanese Green Pigeon is nearest related to Treron sororia from Formosa. It is doubtful whether the females of the two races are separable, but the males differ slightly in the colour of the mantle. In T. sieboldi the vinous red of the wing-coverts is distinctly traceable across the mantle, but in T. seroria the green of the mantle scarcely differs from that of the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, In both races the tail is much graduated, the outer feathers being an inch shorter than the centre ones. These two Pigeons are, of course, island races of a continental species, which appears to be T. sphenura, a Himalayan bird ranging into Burma. This species scarcely differs from its Japanese offshoots in colour; it agrees with M2 164 COLUMBA. both its insular races in the shape and colour of its tail, which is much graduated and is crossed by a dark terminal band, but it differs from both of them, and from all the other species of Treron (except from the long-tailed T. apicauda), in having lost the curious sinua- tion on the inner web of the third primary, so characteristic of the other species in the genus. 146. TRERON PERMAGNA. (LOO-CHOO GREEN PIGEON.) Treron permagna, Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 637. The Loo-Choo’ Green Pigeon is a larger bird than its Japanese ally; and the head, breast, and belly are a nearly uniform dark green. The Loo-Choo Green Pigeon was described by Dr. Stejneger from an example obtained by Mr. Namiye on the island of Okinawa-Shima, one of the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands. It is so nearly allied to one of the Formosan Green Pigeons that its specific dis- tinctness must be regarded as somewhat doubtful until a larger series is obtained. There are two examples, apparently male and female, in the Pryer collection. Both the Formosan Green Pigeons are represented by allied races in the islands lying to the north. In Japan T’. sororia is represented by T. sieboldi, and on the Loo-Choo Islands T. formosana is repre- sented hy T. permagna. The Loo-Choo Green Pigeon can only be regarded as a large race of its Formosan ally; the length of the wing in the former varying from 82 to 7:7 and that of the latter from 76 to 7-1 inches. The females of the two races scarcely differ in colour, but in the male of T. formosana in the Swinhoe collection (the type) the green of the crown is suffused with orange, which is not the case with the male of 7. permagna in the Pryer collection. In both races the graduation of the tail is very slight (about half an inch), and the third primary is sinuated. It is very difficult to trace the affinities of these nearly allied races, but they do not seem to belong to the same group as the Hainan Green Pigeon, the species belonging to which are characterized by a broad pale terminal band across the under surface of the tail. They probably belong to the same stock as the other two races inhabiting nearly the same area. COLUMBE. 165 147. CARPOPHAGA IANTHINA. (JAPANESE FRUIT-PIGEON.) Columba janthina, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 503 (1830). The Japanese Fruit-Pigeon is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 9 to 8} inches). It is slaty brown, bronzed with reddish purple and green. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 60c. The Japanese Fruit-Pigeon is peculiar to Japan and some of the neighbouring islands. There are two examples in the Pryer col- lection from Yokohama, and one from the central group of the Loo- Choo Islands. There is an example in the Norwich Museum obtained by Mr. Ringer near Nagasaki, and there are several examples in the British Museum from Nagasaki and Yokohama. There is an example in the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfort (labelled Columba metallica) obtained by Kittlitz on one of the Bonin Islands, and there is a second example in the St. Petersburg Museum from the same source. The latter has been made the type of a new species, Janthenas nitens (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 421), on the ground that the head is brown instead of grey. The difference is doubtless due to abrasion. Amongst the examples in the British Museum from Yokohama and Nagasaki are several in which the slate-grey ground-colour has more or less faded to russet-brown, and the metallic purples and greens have become dull. The metallic colours are very deceptive. In typical examples the breast is green, very slightly suffused with pinkish purple when seen with the spectator’s back to the light. The Bonin example in the Senckenberg Museum is the greenest I have seen. On the other hand, the Loo-Choo example in the Pryer collection has the breast-feathers pinkish purple with green bases, when seen in the position mentioned. These are probably individual differences unconnected with geographical distribution. The genera of the Columb have never been satisfactorily diagnosed, and it is possible that this species and the two following do not belong to the genus Carpophaga. It has been stated (Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1875, p. 8367) that an allied species differs from the species of that genus in two important particulars: it has no gall-bladder and it has a cecum. 166 COLUMB.E. 148. CARPOPHAGA VERSICOLOR. (BONIN FRUIT-PIGEON,) Columba versicolor, Kittlitz, Kupfertafeln zur Naturgeschichte der Vogel, p. 5 (1882). The Bonin Fruit-Pigeon differs from its Japanese ally in having the breast pinkish purple like the crown, and in having a pale throat. It is larger than the Japanese species (wing from carpal joint 11 to 10 inches), and much paler both on the upper and under parts. Figures: Kittlitz, Kupfertafeln zur Naturgeschichte der Vogel, pl. 5. fig. 2. The Bonin Fruit-Pigeon was discovered on one of the Bonin group of islands in 1827 by Captain Beechey during the voyage of the “Blossom ;’ but in consequence of the unreasonable delay in the completion of the part relating to the Mollusca, the results of the voyage were not published until 1839, when this interesting bird received the name of Columba metallica (Vigors, Zool. Captain Beechey’s Voyage, p. 25). In the meantime two events happened which make the use of this name impossible. In 1828 F. H. von Kittlitz spent a fortnight on the Bonin Islands, and also discovered the Fruit-Pigeon which is peculiar to them, which he figured and described in 1832 under the name of Columba versicolor. But not only was Vigors’s name antedated by that of Kittlitz in conse- quence of the provoking delay, but it was completely nullified by its independent application in 1835 to another species of Fruit-Pigeon from the island of Timor (Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 562). A third name, Columba kitlizii, was given to the Bonin species in the same year (Temminck, Planches Coloriées, page following text to no.578). The opinion that this name was applied to the Japanese species (Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, iv. Culumbe, p. 74) is manifestly erroneous. A fourth name was given to it in 1858 (Kittlitz, Denkwiirdigkeiten einer Reise nach dem Russischen Amerika, nach Mikronesien und durch Kamtschatka, 11. p. 175), when it was proposed to substitute the name of Columba iris for that of Columba versicolor. There can be little doubt that Vigors’s type of this species was once in the Museum of the Zoological Society (together with that of Nycticorax crassirostris and Coccothraustes ferreirostris) ; but there COLUMBA. 167 is no evidence that it was transferred to the British Museum when the collection belonging to the Zoological Society was dispersed. There is an example in the St. Petersburg Museum, which was obtained by Kittlitz on the Bonin Islands, and which has recently been described in detail (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 421); and there is a second example in the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfort from the same source. The latter is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 11 inches), and differs conspicuously from its Japanese ally in being much paler in colour. It has also a yellower bill and a much paler throat. The St. Petersburg skin is 10°1 in length of wing, and Vigors gives 10 inches. Mr. Holst obtained for me a male from Nakondo-Shima, one of the Parry Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 103), It measures 10 inches in length of wing, and is much larger and paler than its Japanese ally. The bronze on the wing-coverts is green in all positions, and the ground-colour of the underparts is lavender instead of dark bluish grey. 149. CARPOPHAGA JOUYI. (LOO-CHOO FRUIT-PIGEON.) Lanthenas jouyi, Stejneger, American Naturalist, 1887, p. 583. The Loo-Choo Fruit-Pigeon is larger than its Japanese ally (wing from carpal joint 10} to 92 inches). It principally differs in having a white crescent across the upper back. The Loo-Choo Fruit-Pigeon was described by Dr. Stejneger from an example obtained by Mr. C. Tasaki on one of the islands whose name it bears. There are two examples in the Pryer collection, obtained from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands, most probably by the same collector (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 179). This fine and remarkably distinct species is doubtless a resident on the Loo-Choo Islands, whilst the Japanese Fruit-Pigeon (Carpophaga ianthina), which also occurs on this group, may prove to be only a winter visitor, These three Fruit-Pigeons have close allies on the Philippine Islands, as well as on some of the islands in the Malay Archipelago, and must be regarded as of Tropical origin. 168 CUCULI. Order COCCYGES. Palate desmognathous; basipterygoid processes absent; hallux present, and connected with the flezor longus hallucis, not with the flexor perforans digitorum, which leads to the second, third, and fourth digits. Young not passing through a complete downy stage. Spinal feather-tract well defined on the neck. Suborder VIII. MUSOPHAGT. Palate desmognathous; feet semi-zygodactyle; plantars galline; spinal feather-tract well defined on neck by lateral bare tracts, but with no interscapular fork. There are about 20 species of Plantain-eaters, which are confined to the Ethiopian Region. Suborder 1X. CUCULT. Palate desmognathous ; basipterygoid processes absent; feet zygo- dactyle; plantars galline; oil-gland nude. The Cuckoos are an almost cosmopolitan group of birds, and number nearly 200 species. They have been divided into three subfamilies (Beddard, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1885, p. 187), which are more properly regarded as families :— Cuculide. Accessory femoro- Phenicopheide. caudal present. \ Syrinx tracheo-bronchial. Centropodide. The Cuculidz is the only family of this suborder which is repre- sented in Japan. cUCULI. 169 150. CUCULUS CANORUS. (COMMON CUCKOO.) Cuculus canorus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 168 (1766). Japanese examples of the Common Cuckoo appear to be absolutely similar to European examples. They completely intergrade with the Himalayan Cuckoo in size (wing from carpal joint 9 to 8 inches) ; and it is not known that they differ in any way in colour, except that in the adult Common Cuckoo there is no tendency for the tail to darken near the tip, and in the rufous stage there are no bars across the rump. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 299. The Common Cuckoo has long been known to occur both on the Kurile Islands and in Japan (Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 443). It is a summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands. There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 451), whence it was obtained by the Perry Expedition nearly twenty years previously (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, li. p. 222). There are fourteen examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The breeding-range of the Common Cuckoo extends from the British Islands across Europe and Southern Siberia to Japan. 151. CUCULUS INTERMEDIUS. (HIMALAYAN CUCKOO.) Cuculus intermedius, Vahl, Scrift. Nat. Selek. iv. pt. i. p. 59 (1797). The Himalayan Cuckoo is a small form (wing from carpal joint 72 to 62 inches) of the Common Cuckoo; but, having a totally different note (Seebohm, Ibis, 1878, p. 326), it is regarded as speci- fically distinct. The tail has a slight tendency to darken towards the tip, and in the rufous stage the rump is barred. The Himalayan Cuckoo is a summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands. It is not uncommon in Yezzo (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 131), and there are three examples in the Pryer collection from Fuji-yama. 170 CUCULI. The breeding-range of the Himalayan Cuckoo extends westwards from Japan and China to the Himalayas, Mongolia, and Eastern Siberia, as far west as the valley of the Yenesay. The Himalayan Cuckoo has been singularly unfortunate as regards its nomenclature. Most writers have called it Cuculus himalayanus (Vigors, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1831, p. 172); but there can be no question that the figure of this bird (Gould, Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains, pl. 54) represents the rufous phase of Cuculus poliocephalus. A still earlier name, dating from 1823, Cuculus striatus (Drapiez, Dict. Class. d’Hist. Nat. iv. p. 570), describes a Cuckoo from Java with a total length of “douze pouces,” or 122 English inches, and has been applied by many writers to this species. This can only refer to a large example of the Common Cuckoo. The types of Cuculus canoroides (Salomon Miiller, Land- en Volkenkunde, p. 235) are fortunately in the Leyden Museum (Schlegel, Mus. Pays- Bas, Cuculi, p. 9), and are said to vary from 74 to 84 English inches in length of wing. It is therefore a composite species (from Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and Timor), though some of the types are un- questionably referable to the Himalayan Cuckoo. This name dates from 1839, and there are plenty of later date to choose from :— 1843. Cuculus saturatus (Hodgson, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 1843, p. 942). 1845. Cuculus optatus (Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1845, p. 18). 1858. Cuculus horsfieldi (Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. 1. Co. ii. p. 703). 1862. Cuculus canorinus (Cabanis, Mus. Hein. iv. p. 35). 1863. Cuculus kelungensis (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1863, p. 394). 1865. Cuculus monosyllabicus (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1865, p. 545). These names are, however, so very modern that in this exceptional case it may be the wisest course to rake up an ill-defined and for- gotten name which dates from 1797. Cuculus intermedius was described in a Danish periodical, published in Copenhagen, from an example obtained at Travancore in Madras, and is said to be similar to the Common Cuckoo, but smaller. As there are three species which scarcely differ from each other except in size, and as the Himalayan Cuckoo happens to be the intermediate one, the name is singularly appropriate, though of course it does not fulfil the impossible demands of the ill-starred Stricklandian code. CUCULI. 171 152, CUCULUS POLIOCEPHALUS. (LITTLE CUCKOO.) Cuculus poliocephalus, Latham, Index Orn. i. p. 214 (1790). The Little Cuckoo appears to be almost similar, both in form and colour, to the Common Cuckoo and the Himalayan Cuckoo, from which it scarcely differs except in size (wiug from carpal joint 64 to 63 inches). Its note is quite different from that of either of its close allies. Figures: Gould, Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains, pl. 54 (rufous phase). The Little Cuckoo is a summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands (Blakiston, Am. List Birds of Japan, p. 13). There are seven examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The range of the Little Cuckoo extends westwards across China to India and Ceylon, and various parts of tropical Africa. 153, HIEROCOCCYX HYPERYTHRUS. (AMOOR CUCKOO.) Cuculus hyperythrus, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856, p. 96. The Amoor Cuckoo is the same size as the Common Cuckoo (wing from carpal joint 8 to 74 inches), but it differs in colour. In adults the breast is uniform vinaceous buff; in the young it is white, longi- tudinally striped with dark brown. The tail is always barred. Figures: Schrenck, Reis. u. Forsch. Amur-Lande, i. pl. 10 (imma-~ ture) ; Gould, Birds of Asia, vi. pl. 43 (adult). The Amoor Cuckoo is a summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 182). There are four examples in the Pryer collection from Fuji-yama, and I have two collected by Mr. Heywood Jones from the same locality (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 28). It breeds in the valley of the Amoor as well as in Japan, and winters in South China and the Philippine Islands. It has two somewhat close allies-—Hierococcyx fugax, which inhabits the Malay Peninsula and the adjacent islands of the Malay Archipelago, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, &c.; and Hierococcyx nisicolor, which inhabits the Himalayas and Burma, 172 CORACIIFORMES. Subclass CORACIIFORMES. The Coraciiformes may be diagnosed by a single character. So far as is known they differ from every other bird in the arrangement of their deep plantar tendons. In all other birds the hallux (if it be present and important enough to have any connection with the deep ne) r) CU = I 4 = Es B A A B I = wy aoe i , Deep plantar tendons of Catharista atratus. plantar tendons) is connected with the flexor longus hallucis and not with the flexor perforans digitorum. All the Coraciiformes have a hallux, and in all of them it is connected with the flexor perforans digitorum, and not with the flexor longus hallucis. The two plantars are always coalesced (as they are in the Accipitres, Anseres, &c.), but may easily be separated by gently tearing them asunder ; but in very many cases the tendon to the hallux branches off from the flexor perforans digitorum before the.two deep plantars coalesce. The subclass Coraciiformes contains two orders, one of which is represented in Japan, the other being confined to the American continent. HALCYONES. 173 Order PICARIE. The Picariz differ from all other birds in combining the following two characters :—Flexor perforans digitorum leading to hallux; ambiens muscle absent. The order Picariz contains three suborders, two of which are represented in Japan. : Suborder X. HALCYONES. Front plantar leading to hallux; spinal feather-tract well defined on the neck by lateral bare tracts, and continuing single down the upper back ; vomer absent; palate desmognathous ; no basipterygoid processes. The Halcyones consist of four families. The Coliide are a very small family, containing half a dozen species, confined to the Ethio- pian Region. The Momotide, with less than a score species, and the Todide, with about half a dozen, are confined to the Neotropical Region; but the Alcedinide contain nearly a hundred and fifty species, and, with the exception of the Arctic and Antarctic Regions, are found all over the world. Three species are found in Japan, all of them apparently of tropical origin. 154, HALCYON COROMANDA. (RUDDY KINGFISHER.) Alcedo coromanda, Latham, Index Orn. i. p. 252 (1790). The Ruddy Kingfisher is more or less rufous all over except a stripe down the centre of the rump and upper tail-coverts, which is white marked with blue. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Hauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 39, under the name of Alcedo (Halcyon) coromanda major; Sharpe, Alcedinide, pl. 57. : The Ruddy Kingfisher is said to be only a summer visitor to Yezzo, but to be a resident in the other islands belonging to the Japanese group. In the Swinhoe collection there is an example collected by 174 HALCYONES. Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 230); and in the Pryer collection there are two examples from Yokohama, and three from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 176). It has also occurred in the southern group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 403). The Ruddy Kingfisher has a wide range. It occurs in Nepal and Sikkim, the Andaman Islands, Burma and the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Java, Borneo and Celebes, and in the Philippine Islands and Formosa. The fact that it has not been recorded from the con- tinent of China is presumptive evidence that it found its way to Japan vid the Loo-Choo Islands and Formosa. Japanese examples vary in length of wing from 5:1 to 4°6 inches, and may possibly be on an average slightly larger than Indian skins, but scarcely sufficiently so to be regarded as subspecifically distinct. The alleged variations in colour and in the wing-formula do not appear to have any geographical significance. 155. CERYLE GUTTATA. (ORIENTAL SPOTTED KINGFISHER.) Alcedo guttatus, Vigors, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1880, p. 22. The Oriental Spotted Kingfisher is the largest representative of its suborder, not only in Japan, but in the Asiatic continent. It has been asserted that Japanese examples are larger than Indian ones, but this is an error. In both countries the variation is the same (wing from carpal joint 7 to 74 inches). In the male the breast and the sides of the neck are suffused with chestnut-buff, and the axillaries and under wing-coverts are white ; and the dark spots across the breast are few and far between. In the female exactly the opposite is the case; the breast and the sides of the neck are white, profusely spotted with black, but the axillaries and under wing-coverts are chestnut-buff. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 888; Sharpe, Alcedinide, pl. 18. The Oriental Spotted Kingfisher is a resident in the southemn islands of Japan; but in Yezzo it is said to be a partial migrant. There are two examples in the Swinhoe collection obtained at Hako- HALCYONES. 175 dadi in January (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 449), and there are three in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The example figured in the ‘Fauna Japonica’ as Alcedo lugubris was probably obtained by Dr. Siebold at Nagasaki. On Tate-yama it is found’ in the wildest mountain-streams and gorges and is exceedingly wary (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 310). , The range of the Oriental Spotted Kingfisher extends from Japan across China, Burma, and the Himalayan valleys as far west as Cashmere. As this species is not found in Siberia, nor in Formosa or the Philippine Islands, it is fair to assume that it reached Japan across China. In the Swinhoe collection there is an example from Ningpo, and PAbbé David records it from various localities in Central China. In the Christiania Museum there is an example collected by Herr Baun at Puching in North Fokien. 156. ALCEDO ISPIDA. (COMMON KINGFISHER.) Alcedo ispida, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 179 (1766). Japanese examples of the Common Kingfisher vary in length of wing from 2°8 to 3:0 inches, and in. length of bill from 1-2 to 1:5 inches, and may be regarded as belonging to the Eastern race Alcedo ispida bengalensis. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 38. The Eastern form of the Common Kingfisher is generally distri- buted throughout the Japanese Islands. It is a summer visitor to Eturop (the most southerly of the Kurile Islands) and to Yezzo (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 136), but further south it is a resident. There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p..152); there are eight examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and Mr. Ringer has obtained it at Nagasaki. Capt. Rodgers procured it from the Loo-Choo Islands (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1862, p. 318), and there are two examples in the Pryer collection from the central group of those islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 176). Few species having so wide a range, and being migratory in so few localities, vary less than the Common Kingfisher. In the 176 CORACIZ. western half of the Palearctic Region the length of wing varies from 3:2 to 2'8 inches; whilst in the eastern half of that Region and in the Oriental Region it varies from 2-9 to 2°6 inches. It is note- worthy that the length of bill (which varies according to age from 14 to 2 inches) is not known to present any geographical variation ; hence the Eastern form has relatively a slightly longer bill than its Western representative. It is, however, impossible to recognize the two forms as specifically distinct. The range of the Common Kingfisher extends across the Palearctic Region from the British Islands to Japan, but does not reach further north than about latitude 55°. To the south it includes the Canary Islands, Egypt, India, China, and the islands of the Malay Archi- pelago. - The Eastern form was described as a distinct species as long ago as 1788 under the name cf Alcedo bengalensis (Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 450), but it is scarcely probable that any one would claim specific rank for it now. Suborder XI. CORACLA. Front plantar leading to hallux; spinal feather-tract well-defined on the neck by lateral bare tracts, but dividing into two tracts on the upper back ; oil-gland nude. Front portion of sternum of (1) Upupa epops, (2) of Buceros albirostris, (3) of Merops apiaster. CORACIA. 177 The Coraciz consist of seven families. The Meropide, containing about thirty species, and the Coraciide, containing nearly a score species, inhabit the tropical and subtropical parts of the Old World. The Leptosomide contains only one species, which is peculiar to Madagascar. The Podargide may contain a score species, which are confined to the Oriental and Australian Regions. The Steatorni- thide contains only one species, which is peculiar to the Neotropical Region. The Caprimulgide, numbering a hundred species, and the Cypselide, numbering about seventy species, are cosmopolitan, except that-they are not found in the Arctic or Antarctic regions. Of these families the Coraciide, the Caprimulgide, and the Cypse- lide are represented in Japan. 157. CYPSELUS PACIFICUS. (WHITE-RUMPED SWIFT.) Hirundo pactfica, Latham, Index Orn, Suppl. p. lviii (1801). The White-rumped Swift is slightly larger than the Common Swift (wing from carpal joint 6°5 to 7°6 inches), and is easily recog- nized by its white rump. Figures: Jardine and Selby, Illustrations of Ornithology, iv. pl. 39; Gould, Birds of Australia, ii. pl. 11. The White-rumped Swift was first procured in Japan by Captain Blakiston (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, p. 331), and has since been found to be a summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands. It has occurred on: Eturop, the most southerly of the Kurile Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 140); Captain Blakiston sent me a skin from Hakodadi (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 31); and there are seven skins in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The breeding-range of the White-rumped Swift extends eastwards from Japan across Southern Siberia as far west as Krasnoyarsk in the valley of the Yenesay, whence I have an example procured by Mr. Kibort in June, and as far south as the Lam-yit Islands (on the Chinese coast opposite North Formosa). It winters in the Burma Peninsula and in Australia. Other white-rumped Swifts are found in the Oriental and Ethi-. opian Regions, but they are all much smaller birds. N 178 CORACIE. 158. CHATURA CAUDACUTA. (NEEDLE-TAILED SWIFT.) Hirundo caudacuta, Latham, Index. Orn. Suppl. p. lvii (1801). The Needle-tailed Swift is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 8 inches or more). Japanese examples have less white on the fore- head than is usual in birds from Siberia, and approach the resident Nepalese species, Chetura nudipes, which has no white on the fore- head or lores. Figures : Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 270; Gould, Birds of Australia, ii. pl. 10. The Needle-tailed Swift is a common summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands. There are several examples in the Swinhoe col- lection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 448), and there are four examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The Needle-tailed Swift is an accidental visitor to the British Islands, its breeding-range extending westwards from Japan across Northern China to South-eastern Siberia. It winters in Australia. 159. CAPRIMULGUS JOTAKA. (JAPANESE GOATSUCKER.) Caprimulgus jotaka, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 87 (1847). The Japanese Goatsucker differs from its British representative in several points, of which perhaps the most important are the spots on the tail-feathers of the male. In the British species the white spots are terminal, but they only occur on the two outer feathers on each side, leaving six central feathers without them. In the Japanese species the white spots are subterminal, but they occur on the four outer feathers on each side, leaving only two central feathers without them. In the plains of India and in Ceylon a paler and smaller form: of the Japanese Goatsucker occurs, C. indicus, which may possibly be specifically distinct from it, the length of wing varying from 7 to 7°6 inches instead of from 8-2 to 8°8 inches. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 12 (male), pl. 13 (female). The Japanese Goatsucker is only entitled to its name on the ground that it was originally described from Japan. It occurs in CORACLE. 179 Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 195), and is common near Yokohama, if we may judge by the fact that there are twenty skins in the Pryer collection. It has also been obtained near Nagasaki by Mr. Ringer, who has presented an example from that locality to the- Norwich Museum. To the north its range extends through Man- churia to the valley of the Amoor, but further west in Siberia its place is taken by the European species. To the south its range extends to South-east Mongolia, China, Cochin China, and Burma to Nepal. It is probably only a summer visitor to Japan, breeding on the mountains, and passing through the plains near Yokohama in May and October (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 231). It is abun- dant on Fuji-yama in summer, when its cry chuck, chuck, chuck, is constantly heard in the still evening air and sometimes before day- break. In autumn it is said to be silent (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 310). It lays two eggs on the ground (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 141). Examples in the Pryer collection exactly resemble the smaller varieties of the eggs of the European Goatsucker. 160. EURYSTOMUS ORIENTALIS. (BROAD-BILLED ROLLER.) Coracias orientalis, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 159 (1766). The Broad-billed Roller is about the size of the European Roller (wing from carpal joint 8 inches), but it has a wider bill and a shorter tail. Its general colour is blue, violet on the wings and tail, and greenish on the body. Figures : Daubenton, Planches Enluminées, no. 619. The claim of the Broad-billed Roller to be regarded as a Japanese bird rests upon one example procured at Nagasaki in May 1879 (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 137), and a second obtained on the most sontherly group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 402). It inhabits most of the Oriental Region, and must be regarded as a tropical species which occasionally wanders as far as the valley of the Amoor. . nN2 180° MIMOGYPES. Suborder XII. BUCEROTES. Front plantar leading to hallux; no lateral bare tracts on the neck ; no basipterygoid processes ; episternal process perforated to receive the feet of the coracoids. The Bucerotes consist of the family Bucerotide, containing about sixty species confined to the Ethiopian and Oriental Regions. Order MIMOGYPES. The Order Mimogypes contains only one Suborder, which is not represented in Japan. Suborder XIU. MIMOGYPES. = The Pseudo-Vultures of America possess the following cha- racters :— Hallux present, and connected with the flexor per forans digitorum ; Hy A 3 H 4 A = z Deep plantar tendons of Cathartes aura. spinal feather-tract not defined on the neck ; basipterygoid processes present ; young born helpless, but covered with down. Of these four characters the combination either of the first three or of the last three is not known to occur in any other bird. PSITTACI. 181 Subclass FALCONIFORMES. The Faleoniformes are supposed to be the only birds which com- bine the following characters :— Young born helpless, and requiring to be fed by their parents in the nest for many days; young before acquiring feathers passing through a stage in which they are completely covered with down ; hallux present, and connected with the flexor longus hallucis and not with the flexor perforans digitorum; spinal feather-tract well defined on the neck. The Subclass Falconiformes contains two Orders, one only of which is represented in Japan. Order PSITTACI. The Order Psittaci only contains one Suborder. Suborder XIV. PSITTACT. The Parrots may be diagnosed as follows :— Young born helpless and nearly naked; feet zygodactyle; spinal feather-tract well defined on the neck by lateral bare tracts, and forked on the upper back ; oil-gland tufted or absent. There are nearly 400 species of Parrots, which are all tropical or subtropical birds, and are distributed over both the Old and the New World. One species ranges into the southern portion of the Nearctic Region, but the suborder is unknown in the Palearctic Region, including Japan, though a few species approach as near as South “ China. The Parrots must be regarded as a very archaic group of birds, inasmuch as many if not all of them have opisthocclous dorsal vertebre. 182 STRIGES. Order RAPTORES. The Raptores possess four characters which are not known to be eombined in any other birds. Young born helpless ; young passing through a complete downy stage; hallux present, and connected with the flexor longus hallucis (uot with the flexor perforans digitorum) ; spinal feather-tract well defined on the neck. The Order Raptores contains three Suborders. Suborder XV. STRIGES. Young born helpless, but completely covered with down ; oil-gland present, but nude; spinal feather-tract well defined on the neck. The following alternative diagnoses are supposed to be equally exclusive :— Basal phalanx of the third digit shortened almost to a cube; basi- pterygoid processes present. Ambiens, accessory femoro-caudal, semitendinosus, and accessory semitendinosus muscles absent; basipterygoid processes present. The distribution of the Owls is almost cosmopolitan. The number of species known is about 200. There are eleven species of Owls which have been found in the Japanese Empire. Of these three belong to the genus Striz, in which the ear-conch is very large and protected by an operculum. One has been placed in the genus Minow (scarcely separable from Noctua), in which the nostrils are placed in a projection formed by an inflation of the cere. Of the remaining seven, one belongs to the genus Surnia, which possesses neither of the characters already named, but has white or transversely barred underparts, longitudinal streaks on the underparts, and ear-tufts obsolete or nearly so. The remaining six have very conspicuous ear-tufts, and the broad longi- tudinal streaks on the underparts are more conspicuous than the narrow transverse bars. Two of them belong to the genus Budo, which contains the large species (wing from carpal joint never less than 12 inches) ; and the remaining four to the genus Scops, which STRIGES, 183 contains the smal] species (wing from carpal jomt never more than 9 inches). It is not known that there are any structural BUBO NAX/AUS, differences between the two last-named genera, which, like most other genera of Owls, are very unsatisfactory. 161. BUBO MAXIMUS. (EAGLE-OWL.) Bubo maximus, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Dig. i. p. 84 (1767). The Eagle-Owl is very large (wing from carpal joint 20 to 18 inches). Its feet are densely feathered to the claws, and it has very conspicuous ear-tufts. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 315. It is not known that the Eagle-Owl is found on any of the three or four large islands which may be regarded as continental Japan; but in the Norwich Museum there is an example (presented by 184 STRIGES. Mr. Ringer) which was shot on one of the Goto Islands, a group which lies only about fifty miles to the west of Nagasaki (Gurney, This, 1886, p. 524). ie The range of the Eagle-Owl extends from the British Islands, where it is now only an occasional visitor, across Europe and Asia to the confines of Japan. 162. BUBO BLAKISTONTI. (BLAKISTON’S EAGLE-OWL.) Bubo blakistoni, Seebohm, Proc. Zool. Soe. 1883, p. 466; Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 42. Blakiston’s Eagle-Owl is probably the largest Owl known (wing from carpal joint 22 inches). Its tarsus is feathered, but its feet are bare. It has very conspicuous ear-tufts. Figures: Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, pl. 6. Blakiston’s Eagle-Owl is only known from the island of Yezzo, where it is a resident. It had long been confounded with the Eagle- Owl of Europe, Bubo maximus, until in 1883 Captain Blakiston sent an example to London for identification, when it was found to be an undescribed species. The type is in the British Museum, and I have a second example, to which I am indebted to the kindness of Captain Blakiston, in my collection. There is a fine example in the Norwich Museum, which also possesses a skeleton of this interesting species. On the 20th of January, 1887, two live specimens were presented to the Zoological Society by Mr. J. H. Leech, who pro- cured them from Mr. Henson at Hakodadi. They came from the Lake district twenty. miles north of that port (Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1887, p. 138). The affinities of Bubo blakistoni have been supposed to be with the subgeneric group of Eagle-Owls which was called Pseudoptynx by Kaup (Gurney, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1887, p. 188). This group is re- presented by two species from the Philippine Islands, and is supposed to be characterized by the absence of feathering on the toes. It is highly improbable that a subgenus should be represented in Yezzo and the Philippine Islands and not in Formosa or Southern Japan. The feathering of the toes varies so much in the allied genus Scops that it can scarcely be regarded as of much taxonomic value ; and it STRIGES. 185 seems more probable that the nearest ally of Blakiston’s Owl is Bubo coromandus, which has occurred in China (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 183). 163, SURNIA NYCTEA. (SNOWY OWL.) Strix nyctea, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 132 (1766). The Snowy Owl is very large (wing from carpal joint 19 to 154 inches). Its feet are densely feathered to the claws, but its ear- tufts are very small. It is white, more or less barred with brown. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 310 (adult), pl. 309 (young). The claim of the Snowy Owl to be regarded as a Japanese bird rests upon a single example, which was brought alive into Hakodadi on the 29th of November, 1879, and was said to have been caught in the neighbourhood (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 177). The Snowy Owl is a circumpolar species, breeding in the Arctic Region of both continents. It is a rare winter visitor to the British Islands. 164, STRIX URALENSIS. (URAL OWL.) Strix uralensis, Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, i. p. 445 (1771). There are two forms of Ural Owl in Japan, the typical form and a dark tropical form, which may be called Strix uralensis fuscescens. The Ural Owl is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 154 to 121 inches), but it has a very rounded wing (1st and 10th primaries nearly of equal length). Its ear-conch is furnished with an oper- culum), Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 307 (typical form) ; Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 10 (tropical form, sub nomine Strix fuscescens, dating from 1845). The typical form of the Ural Owl probably breeds in Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 194), and there is an example in the British Museum (formerly in my collection) which does not differ from pale 186 STRIGES. examples from Europe (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p.41). It was collected by Captain Blakiston at Hakodadi. There are ten examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, most of which may be regarded as typical Strix uralensis ; but one of them is a typical Strix uralensis Suscescens, the Strix rufescens of the text of Temminck and Schlegel’s. ‘Fauna Japonica,’ Aves, p. 30. All the examples that I have seen from Nagasaki, one of which was presented by Mr. Ringer to the Norwich Museum, belong to this tropical form (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 183). It is very much darker, both above and below, than the typical form, all the pale markings are smaller, and the white is confined to the throat, and a few spots on the flanks and scapulars. The two centre tail-feathers, instead of being crossed by half a dozen pale bars, are uniform brown. Some of the Yokohama examples are, however, so intermediate that there can scarcely be a doubt that ° the two forms completely intergrade. The range of the Ural Owl extends westwards through Siberia to Scandinavia, but it does not reach the British Islands. Eggs in the Pryer collection measure 1:9 by 16 inches. 165. STRIX OTUS. (LONG-EARED OWL.) Strix otus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 182 (1766). The Long-eared Owl measures from 12 to 11 inches in length of wing from carpal joint. Its ear-conch has an operculum, and its ear-tufts are conspicuous. Its first primary is nearly as long as the fourth, and the feathers of the underparts have narrow transverse bars as well as broad longitudinal stripes. : Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 303. The Long-eared Owl is a resident in‘all the Japanese Islands. It is not a very common bird in Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 195), but Captain Blakiston has sent an example from Hakodadi (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 41); there are three skins in the Pryer collection from Yokohama; and Mr. Ringer has sent examples from Nagasaki (Blakiston, Am. List Birds of Japan, p. 65), which are now in the Norwich Museum. The breeding-range of the Long-eared Owl extends from the- British Islands across Europe and Southern Siberia to Japan, STRIGES. 187 166. STRIX BRACHYOTUS. (SHORT-EARED OWL.) Strix brachyotus, Forster, Phil. Trans. lxii. p. 884 (1772). The Short-eared Owl measures from 13 to 12 inches in length of wing from carpal joint. Its ear-conch has an operculum, but its ear-tufts are small. Its first primary is nearly as long as the third, but the feathers of the underparts have no transverse bars, though most of them have conspicuous longitudinal stripes. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 304. The Short-eared Owl is common to all the Japanese Islands, and is probably only a summer visitor to Yezzo, but a resident in the more southerly islands. Captain Blakiston has sent an example from Hakodadi (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p. 41), and it has been pro- cured in Yezzo by native bird-catchers (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 195). In the Pryer collection there are three examples from Yokohama, besides one from Yezzo; and Mr. Ringer has sent examples to the Norwich Museum procured near Nagasaki (Blakiston, Am. List Birds of Japan, p. 65). The Short-eared Owl breeds in the British Islands, and may almost be regarded as cosmopolitan, its breeding-range comprising most of the temperate regions of the world. 167. NINOX SCUTULATA. (BROWN OWLET:) ‘Strix scutulata, Raffles, Trans, Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 280 (1822), - The Brown Owlet is one of the smaller species (wing from carpal joint 9 to 8 inches). No other Japanese Owl has the projecting cere of this species. It is chocolate-brown, with barred wings and tail ; the underparts are streaked with white, and the under tail-coverts are nearly all white. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 98, sub nomine Stria hirsuta japonica. The Brown Owlet is very doubtfully recorded from Yezzo (Blakis- ton and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 177), but it is not uncommon in summer near Yokohama and Nagasaki. There are eight examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and two 188 STRIGES, from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 174). It has also been obtained in the southern group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 401). The examples obtained by the Siebold expedition were probably procured at Nagasaki. The Brown Owlet is found throughout the Oriental Region as well as in Japan. It has been subdivided into various species or subspecies, but it is very doubtful whether any of them can be defined geographically. 168. SCOPS SEMITORQUES. (FEATHERED-TOED SCOPS OWL.) Otus semitorques, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 25 (1845). The Feathered-toed Scops Owl is one of the smaller species (wing from carpal joint 7 to 6 inches). It has a conspicuous broad pale band on the hind neck. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 8. The Feathered-toed Scops Owl is found. in all the Japanese Islands. In the Swinhoe collection there are many examples from Yezzo (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 448) ; and in the Paris Museum there are examples from Hirosaki in the north of Hondo, procured by l’Abbé Fauire. There is a fine series in the Pryer collection from Yoko- hama; and in the Norwich Museum as well as in the British Museum there are examples presented by Mr. Ringer from Nagasaki; but the example recorded by Mr. Pryer from the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 174) proved upon examination to belong to the following species. : 169. SCOPS ELEGANS. (CASSIN’S SCOPS OWL.) Ephialtes elegans, Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1852, p. 185. Cassin’s Scops Owl is a giant race of Scops japonicus, measuring 64 to 62 inches in length of wing from carpal joint, and having the tarsus bare for a short distance above the base of the toes, as may STRIGES, 189 be seen in the woodcut on page 58 of the British Museum Catalogue of Striges. I only know of the existence of five examples of Cassin’s Scops Owl. The type in the Philadelphia Museum was caught on board- ship a few miles west of the Loo-Choo Islands; a second example in the British Museum (erroneously described in the Catalogue, vol. ii. p. 56, as Scops japonicus) was obtained by Captain St. John at Nagasaki ; a third, in the Educational Museum of Tokio, was procured on Okinawa-Shima, one of the Loo-Choo Islands, and is recorded under the name of Megascops elegans (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 639); and the Pryer collection contains the fourth example, also from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1888, p. 232). The fifth example is that of a very young bird in the Smithsonian Institution, and was collected by Mr. Tasaki on one of the northerly islands of the Loo-Choo group (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 401). ae 170. SCOPS SCOPS. (SCOPS OWL.) Stria: scops, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 182 (1766). Japanese examples of the Scops Owl appear all to belong to the small dark race of this species, which may perhaps only be entitled to be regarded as subspccifically distinct, under the name of Scops scops japonicus. It is slightly smaller than the typical form (wing from carpal joint 52 to 54 inches), and decidedly darker and browner. The ear-tufts are well developed; the tarsus is feathered, but the feet are bare. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 314 (typical form) ; Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 9 (eastern form). The Scops Owl is said to be rather common in Japan (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 247), but it is rare in collections. When the second volume of the Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum was published there were no Japanese examples in the National Collection, and only two have since been added—one from the Tweeddale collection (brown phase) from Yokohama, and a second from the Swinhoe collection (rufous phase) from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 448, no. 71). There are only two examples in the 190 STRIGES. Pryer collection from Yokohama (one in the brown, and the other in the rufous phase). Mr. Ringer has obtained an example (very rufous) from Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 178). The Japanese race of this species was originally described as Otus scops japonicus (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 27); and the Chinese race was, about twenty years afterwards, described as Scups stictonotus (Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. ii. p. 54). These races cannot, however, be regarded as distinct, and the range of the subspecies extends beyond China to Nepal and Siam. The typical form is larger (wing from carpal joint 64 to 52 inches), and has the dark stripes both above and below more conspicuous. There is little difference in colour between the rufous phases of the two races, but the grey phase of the typical form is represented by a brown phase in the eastern race. 171. SCOPS PRYERI. (PRYER’S SCOPS OWL.) Scops pryert, Gurney, Ibis, 1889, p. 802. Pryer’s Scops Owl is the largest species of Scops Owl found in the Japanese Empire (wing from carpal joint 7} inches), The feathering of the tarsus, like that of S. scops, extends to the base of the toes, but not beyond; it is consequently more than that of S. elegans, but less than that of S. semitorques. It agrees with the last- mentioned species in having a short first primary (equal to the 9th or 10th), but differs from it in having the pale band on the hind neck almost obsolete. Mr. J. H. Gurney informed me that he “thinks Scops pryeri is nearest allied to S. leucospilus’’ (from Batchian and Gilolo, figured on plate 6 of Sharpe’s Catalogue), “‘ S. morotensis” (from the Mo- luccas, figured on plate 7 of the same work), “ and S. bouruensis ”’ (from Bouru, also figured on plate 7), “a group in which 8. magicus”’ (from Ceram and Amboyna, figured on plate 5) “ ought perhaps to be included.” Pryer’s Scops Owl is only known from two examples, an adult in the Norwich Museum and an immature example in the Pryer col- Jection. Both specimens were procured on one of the islands of the central group of the Loo-Choo chain. ACCIPITRES. 191 Suborder XVI. ACCIPITRES. Young born helpless, but completely covered with down; no basi- pterygoid processes ; spinal feather-tract well defined on the neck ; hallux present, and connected with the flexor longus hallucis, and not with the flexor perforans digitorum, the two tendons bound together by a fibrous vinculum ; dorsal vertebra heteroccelous. The Birds of Prey may be regarded as cosmopolitan in their distribution. They number about 350 species, of which 20 have occurred in the Japanese Empire. The Japanese genera of Accipitres may be divided into three groups founded upon the peculiarities of the covering of their tarsi ; but until the osteology of the Birds of Prey has been examined, it is impossible to say how far these groups are natural ones. Fatconin#.—Lower half of tarsus reticulated all round. Bill deeply notched .......... Falco ....> Pines primary between the third : and fifth. Pandion .. Butaster. Lores covered with small feathers, not hairs ..........02 aa” { Pernis. AquiLin#z.—Tarsus scutellated or feathered in front; reticulated or feathered at sides and back. Miivus. oe scutellated in front. Third, fourth, and fifth primaries Haliaetus. J longest ..,....+5., seeenes ‘ ; Aquila. Tail not forked. Tarsus feathered in front to w PROCS seta eae ee gig ie Baise Spizactus. AcciPiTRin#.—Tarsus scutellated at back and almost always in front ; reticulated at sides. Buteo. Tarsus less than a fourth of wing, and less than half of first pyi- mary. primary much less than length Carpal joint to tip of shortest | Circus, of tail ..... han gt Accipiter. 192 « ACCIPITRES. FALCONINA. 172. FALCO GYRFALCO. (JER-FALCON.) Falco gyrfalco, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 180 (1766). The Jer-Falcon is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 16} to 14 inches). It differs from the Peregrine in having the outer toe no longer than the inner, and in having the general colour of the tail not darkened towards the tip. It is not known which of the various races of the Jer-Falcon occasionally strays as far as Japan. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, vi. pls. 367 to 371. Mr. Henson informs me that he procured an example of one of the various races of Jer-Falcon at Hakodadi. The Jer-Falcon is a circumpolar species, varying considerably in different parts of its range. 173, FALCO PEREGRINUS. (PEREGRINE FALCON.) Falco peregrinus, Tunstall, Orn. Brit. p. 1 (1771). The Peregrine is a small Jer-Falcon (wing from carpal joint 15 to 12 inches). It differs from that species in having the tail darkening towards the tip. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, vi. pl. 372. The Peregrine was recognized by Pallas as one of the birds found by Steller in the Kurile Islands (Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 326), and has recently been found by Mr. Snow to be very common there: in summer (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 185); but it is a resident in the more southerly Japanese Islands. There are examples from Hakodadi both in the Norwich Museum and in the British Museum (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 194), and there are four examples from Yokohama in the Pryer collection. The examples obtained by the Siebold Expedition (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 1) were probably procured near Nagasaki. It has been recorded from the most southerly group of FALCONINA. 193 the Loo-Choo Islands (Stejneger, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 401). The Peregrine is a circumpolar species, and breeds in the British Islands as well as in Japan. American ornithologists regard the Nearctic Peregrine Falcons as subspecifically distinct from those found in the Palearctic Region under the name of Falco peregrinus anatum. They allege that in the Nearctic species the breast of the adult bird is generally unspotted. They originally described East-Asiatic examples as an intermediate race under the name of Falco peregrinus orientalis ; but Dr. Stejneger and Mr. Ridgway appear to have abandoned this position, and now regard Japanese and American examples as identical. Mr. Gurney did not recognize the Japanese birds as distinct from those of Europe. 174, FALCO SUBBUTEO. (HOBBY.) Falco subbuteo, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 127 (1766). The Hobby is a miniature Peregrine (wing from carpal joint 11 to 10 inches). It is easily distinguished when adult by its chestnut thighs, and at all ages by the absence of bars on its under tail-coverts and central tail-feathers. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, vi. pl. 379 (male and female adult), pl. 387 (young in first plumage and in down). The Hobby is tolerably abundant in Yezzo (Seebohm, Ibis, 1879, p- 42) ; but, strange to say, it has not been recorded from Southern Japan. The range of the Hobby extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan. 175. FALCO ASALON. (MERLIN.) Falco esalon, Tunstall, Orn, Brit. p. 1 (1771). The Merlin is one of the smallest Falcons (wing from carpal joint 9 to 8 inches). The adult male Merlin (like the adult male Kestrel) 0 194 ACCIPITRES. has a blue-grey tail, crossed by a broad subterminal black band; but the blue-grey extends to the wing-coverts, scapulars, tertials, and interscapulars. The female and immature male closely resemble those of the Kestrel, but may be distinguished by having seven instead of nine dark bars across the tail, which is also less rounded. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 380 (male and female adult), pl. 381 (very old female and young in first plumage) . The Merlin is 2 common resident in all the Japanese Islands. There are several examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi, and there are ten examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, whence the first occurrence of this species in Japan was recorded (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, p. 144). The range of the Merlin extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan. 176. FALCO TINNUNCULUS. (KESTREL.) Faico tinnunculus, Linneus, Syst, Nat. i. p. 127 (1766). The Japanese Kestrel belongs to the eastern race of the dark form of the Kestrel ; and may be regarded as subspecifically distinct, under the name (dating from 1845) of Falco tinnunculus japonicus (Tem- minck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 2). The Kestrel varies in length of wing from 104 to 9} inches. It is very closely allied to the Merlin, the adult males of both species having a blue-grey tail, crossed by a broad subterminal black band; but in the Kestrel the wing-coverts, scapulars, tertials, and inter- scapulars are chestnut, barred with black. The females and imma- ture males are much more difficult to determine, but in the Kestrel there are nine (instead of seven) dark bars across the tail, and the outer feathers are more than an inch (instead of less than half an inch) shorter than the central ones. The outer toe is also more nearly equal to the inner toe than it is in the Merlin. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 1 (immature female), pl. 1 B (adult male). The Japanese Kestrel is a common resident in the southern islands of Japan, but is not known to have occurred in Yezzo. Mr. Ringer has sent examples to the Norwich Museum procured at Nagasaki FALCONINE. 195 (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 184), and there are seven examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The range of the Kestrel extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan; but examples from Japan, Formosa, and South China differ somewhat from the typical race (Gurney, Ibis, 1881, p. 462). They constitute a dark richly coloured local race of the same species which inhabits the British Islands, and only differs in size from the smaller dark race which breeds on the islands off the coast of West Africa (Cape Verd, Canaries, and Madeira). Eggs in the Pryer collection resemble those of the common form. 177. PANDION HALIAETUS. (OSPREY.) Falco halietus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 129 (1766). The Osprey varies in length of wing (from carpal joint) from 21 to 16 inches. It is brown above and white below, with brown Deep plantar tendons of Pandion haliaetus. streaks on the breast and white streaks on the crown and nape. Immature birds have most of the feathers of the upper parts more or less margined with white. 02 196 ACCIPITRES. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, vi. pl. 386 (adult), pl. 387 (young in first plumage). The Osprey is a resident in all the Japanese Islands. Captain Blakiston has sent an example obtained at Hakodadi in October (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 183), and there are five examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. In the Norwich Museum there are several examples, which were brought by Mr. Ringer from Naga- saki, where those procured by the Siebold Expedition were probably obtained (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 13). The Osprey is a circumpolar species, and has not yet been quite exterminated in the British Islands. As it is not known to breed in India or Burma, it probably emigrated to Japan from Siberia. 178. BUTASTER INDICUS. (JAVAN BUZZARD.) Falco indicus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 264 (1788). The Javan Buzzard varies in length of wing from 134 to 123 inches. It is brown above, more or less barred with dark brown on the wings and tail; and white, barred with brown, below. Figures: Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 325 (adult) ; Tem- minck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 7 B (immature). The Javan Buzzard is a very common resident in Southern Japan, but it has not been recorded from Yezzo. There are four examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and two from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands. There are several examples, including a nestling, in the Norwich Museum, which were brought by Mr. Ringer from Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p- 183), where the example figured in the ‘Fauna Japonica’ as Buteo pyrrhogenys, and described as Buteo polyogenys, was probably procured. The range of the Javan Buzzard extends from Japan, the Philip- pine Islands, and Celebes, across China, Borneo, and Java to the Malay Peninsula. Allied species occur in India and North-east Africa, consequently the Japan Buzzard must be regarded as one of the Tropical contribu- tions to the Avifauna of Japan. AQUILINA, 197 179. PERNIS APIVORUS. (HONEY-BUZZARD.) Falco apivorus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 1380 (1766). The Honey-Buzzard varies in length of wing (from carpal joint) from 173 to 15 inches. It varies greatly in colour, but the tail always has four broad dark bands across it. It is easily recognized by the small feathers on the lores. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, vi. pl. 365 (male and female adult), pls. 364, 366 (immature). The Honey-Buzzard appears to be a very rare bird in Japan. There is one example in the Leyden Museum, probably from Naga- saki, obtained during the Siebold Expedition (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 24); and Captain Blakiston has recorded in the ‘ Chrysanthemum’ the capture of a fine male (without crest) by Mr. Jouy at Chiusenji, in Tokio, during August. The range of the Honey-Buzzard during the breeding-season extends from the British Islands across Europe and Southern Siberia to Japan. AQUILIN &. 180. MILVUS ATER. (BLACK KITE.) Falco ater, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 262 (1788). Japanese examples of the Black Kite belong to the large Siberian race, which was described in 1845 as Milvus melanotis (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 14), and which may fairly claim to be regarded as subspecifically distinct, under the name of Milvus ater melanotis. The Siberian race of the Black Kite is a large form (wing from carpal joint 214 to 184 inches). It is easily recognized amongst other Japanese birds of prey by its forked tail. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 5 (brown phase), pl. 5 B (rufous phase). The Siberian Black Kite is a very common resident in Japan. It 198 ACCIPITRES. is very numerous during the fishing-season at Eturop, the most southerly of the Kurile Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 181); and there is an example in the Swinhoe col- lection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 150), whence it had been obtained twenty years earlier by the Perry Expedition (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 219). There are three examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, and one in the Norwich Museum procured by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki. The range of the Black Kite extends from Western Europe to Eastern Siberia and Japan; but examples from the latter districts differ slightly from those inhabiting Europe. Some of the Siberian birds appear to winter in India. The Siberian form of the Black Kite is slightly larger than the western form, and has the white at the base of the outer primaries extending below the under wing-coverts, but that on the margins of the feathers of the head is confined to the forehead. Eggs in the Pryer collection are on an average larger than those of the European form. 181. HALIAETUS ALBICILLA. (WHITE-TAILED EAGLE.) Vultur albicilia, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 128 (1766). The White-tailed Eagle is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 29 to 26 inches). The white tail is only characteristic of adult birds, but the7absence of feathers on the lower half of the tarsus, combined with the large size, prevent it being confused with any other Japanese bird except Steller’s Sea-Eagle, which has a very cuneiform tail consisting of 14 (instead of 12) feathers. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 348 (adult), pl. 347 (young in first plumage). The White-tailed Eagle is a common resident on all the J. apanese coasts (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 180). There are two examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama; and there are others in the Norwich Museum brought by Mr. Ringer from Nagasaki, where the example obtained by the Siebold Expedition was probably procured (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p- 12). AQUILINE. 199 The breeding-range of the White-tailed Eagle extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan. As it is only a winter visitor to South China, it must be regarded as a Palearctic species which probably emigrated to Japan from Siberia. 182. HALIAETUS PELAGICUS. (STELLER’S SEA-EAGLE.) Aguila pelagica, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 343 (1826). Steller’s Sea-Eagle may always be recognized by its wedge-shaped tail, consisting of 14 (instead of 12) feathers. It is about the same size as the White-tailed Eagle, but has a larger bill. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 4 (young) ; Temminck, Planches Coloriées, no. 489 (adult). Steller’s Sea-Hagle is a frequent winter visitor from its breeding- grounds in Kamtschatka to the Japanese Islands, but is more often seen in Yezzo than further south (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 180). Mr. Henson has sent several examples from Hakodadi, three of which are in the British Museum. There are two examples in the Pryer collection from Yezzo (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 183), and one from the central group of the Loo-Choo Islands (Seebohm, Ibis, 1888, p. 232), the latter having been caught exhausted in a paddy-field. The breeding-range of Steller’s Sea-Eagle is probably confined to the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk. 183. AQUILA CHRYSAETUS. (GOLDEN EAGLE.) Falco chrysaetus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 125 (1766). The Golden Eagle is not quite so large as the Sea-Eagle (wing from carpal joint 28 to 22 inches). Its tarsi feathered to the toes, the absence of bars on the thighs and the rest of the underparts, and its large size, prevent it from being confounded with any other Japa- nese bird of prey. 200 ACCIPITRES. Figures : Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 345. Several examples of the Golden Eagle have been obtained in Southern Japan, but it has not yet been recorded from Yezzo (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 247). There is a fine example in the Pryer collection from the game-market in Yokohama (See- bohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 43). The range of the Golden Eagle extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan. As it is not known to occur in South China, it must be regarded as a Palearctic species which has emigrated to Japan from Siberia. 184, AQUILA LAGOPUS. (ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD-EAGLE.) Falco lagopus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 260 (1788). The Rough-legged Buzzard-Eagle is much smaller than any other Japanese bird of prey which has the tarsus feathered to the toes (wing from carpal jomt 19 to 17 inches). A narrow strip at the back of the tarsus is free from feathers, a peculiarity also found in the nestling of the Golden Eagle. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pls. 334, 335. The Rough-legged Buzzard-Eagle is a rare winter visitor to Japan. Two examples have been procured at Hakodadi (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p- 43), but it has not yet been recorded from Southern Japan. The Rough-legged Buzzard-Eagle is a rare winter visitor to the British Islands, as well as to Japan. Its breeding-range extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and across Bering Straits into Alaska. 185. SPIZAETUS NIPALENSIS. (INDIAN CRESTED EAGLE.) Nisactus nipalensis, Hodgson, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 1836, p. 229, The Indian Crested Eagle is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 20 to 18 inches). It has the tarsus feathered to the toes. The flanks and thighs are always barred. ACCIPITRINA. 201 Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 3 (immature), sub nomine Spizaetus orientalis. The Indian Crested Eagle is a resident on Hondo, and wanders in winter as far as Yezzo (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 181). An immature bird from Japan moulted in the Zoological Gardens in London into the adult plumage. There is also an adult example in the Pryer collection from Fuji-yama. The breeding-range of this species extends from the Himalayas, and the mountains of Southern India and Ceylon, across Southern China to Formosa and Japan. As it has not been recorded from North China or Siberia, it must be regarded as a Tropical species which has emigrated to Japan from the south. ACCIPITRIN A. 186. BUTEO HEMILASIUS. (SIBERIAN BUZZARD.) Buteo hemilasius, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 18 (1845). The Siberian Buzzard is a large bird (wing from carpal joint 20 to 18 inches). The tarsus is scutellated at the back, but reticulated in front. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 7. The Siberian Buzzard appears to be only an accidental visitor to Japan. The Siebold Expedition obtained a single example at Naga- saki, but no second specimen has been recorded from any of the Japanese Islands. This species breeds in Dauria and winters in Mongolia and North China. 187. BUTEO VULGARIS. (COMMON BUZZARD.) Buteo vulgaris, Leach, Syst. Cat. M. & Birds Brit. Mus. p. 10 (1816). Japanese examples of the Buzzard belong to the Eastern race of this species, in which the upper half of the tarsus is plumed. It was originally described from Nepal as Buteo plumipes (Hodgson, Proc. 202 ACCIPITRES. Zool. Soc. 1845, p. 87); and in the same year from Japan as Falco buteo japonicus and Buteo japonicus, in the text, and as Buteo vulgaris japonicus on the plates (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p.16). It is a fairly distinct race (though it appears to intergrade with the Western race), and is entitled to the name of Buteo vulgaris plumipes. The Eastern race of the Common Buzzard varies in length of wing (from carpal joint) from 163 to 183 inches. The tenth primary exceeds the primary-coverts by about 14 inches ; in Butaster indicus by 24 inches. Figures : Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pls. 6, 6B. The Japanese race of the Common Buzzard is probably only a summer visitor to the Kurile Islands and to Yezzo, but a resident in Southern Japan. There are several examples from Hakodadi in the Swinhoe collection, and there are seven examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. Mr. Ringer has obtained it at Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 182), whence he has sent many examples to the Norwich Museum ; and Mr. Holst procured it on Peel Island, one of the central group of the Bonins (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 102). The range of the Common Buzzard extends from the British Islands across Europe, Central Asia, and Southern Siberia to Japan. Examples from Europe and Turkestan differ slightly from those found in Eastern Siberia, China, and Japan. The Eastern form of the Common Buzzard is said to be always distinguishable from the Western form by the greater extent to which the tarsus is feathered, Adult birds are said, further, to differ in having uniform brown tails without bars. 188, CIRCUS CYANEUS. (HEN-HARRIER.) Falco cyaneus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 126 (1766). The Hen-Harrier is smaller than the Marsh-Harrier (wing from carpal joint 154 to 13} inches). Adult males are easily recognized by the pale bluish-grey throat and breast, but females and young males are very close to those of the Eastern Marsh-Harrier. In C. eruginosus the 1st primary is an inch or more longer than the 7th ; in C. cyaneus they are nearly equal. ACCIPITRIN 2. 203 Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 329 (male and female adult). The Hen-Harrier is a summer visitor to the Kurile Islands and to Yezzo, but a winter visitor to Southern Japan (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 185). There is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1875, p. 448), and there are eight examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama, The example obtained by the collectors of the Siebold Expedition, and erroneously identified as Circus uliginosus, was doubtless procured at Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 9). The breeding-range of the Hen-Harrier extends from the British Islands across North Europe and Siberia to Japan. 189. CIRCUS ARUGINOSUS. (MARSH-HARRIER.) Circus eruginosus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 1380 (1766). The Marsh-Harrier is on an average 2 somewhat larger bird than the Hen-Harrier (large females 17 mches in length of wing from carpal joint). The Ist and 7th primaries are nearly equal in length. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 326 (Western form) ; pl. 327 (intermediate form); Swinhoe, Ibis, 1863, pl. 5 (Eastern form). It is impossible to determine whether the Marsh-Harriers of Japan belong to the Eastern or to the Western form of that species, or to both. The male of the Eastern form, Circus spilonotus (Kaup, Contr. Orn. 1850, p. 59), when fully adult has the underparts white, streaked on the throat and breast with black; whilst in the Western form the throat and breast are buff streaked with brown, and the rest of the underparts are chestnut. The females of the Eastern form are said to have broad bands across the tail-feathers, but otherwise to resemble those of the Western form, which never has a banded tail in either sex or at any age. I have never seen an adult male (with lavender- grey tail) of either form from Japan; but immature males and females with uniform brown tails (presumably C. eruginosus), and females with barred tails (probably C. spilonotus), are represented in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The existence of inter- mediate forms between the two races, of which at least five examples 204 ACCIPITRES. have been recorded (Gurney, Diurnal Birds of Prey, p. 115), appears to prove that they are only subspecifically distinct, and that probably the immature examples of the two forms are indistinguishable. The Marsh-Harrier is probably a summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands, whence it was first procured by Captain Blakiston from Awomori on Hondo opposite Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, p. 144). There are several examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi, and there are four examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The breeding-range of the Marsh-Harrier extends from the British Islands across Europe and Southern Siberia to Japan. 190. ACCIPITER PALUMBARIUS. (GOSHAWK.) Falco palumbarius, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 180 (1766). The Goshawk measures from 14 to 12 inches in length of wing from carpal joint. In the adult male the upper parts are slate-grey, and the underparts white barred with slate-grey. In the female and young male the upper parts are brown with pale markings, and the underparts pale rufous streaked with brown. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pl. 354 (female adult, and young in first plumage). The Goshawk is a resident in all the Japanese Islands. There is an example in the Hakodadi Museum obtained in Yezzo (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 248), and there are five examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama: There is an example in the Paris Museum procured by l’Abbé Fauire near Awomori in the north of Hondo. The range of the Goshawk extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan. 191. ACCIPITER NISUS. (COMMON SPARROW-HAWK.) Falco nisus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 180 (1766). The Common Sparrow- Hawk varies in length of wing (from carpal ACCIPITRINAE. 205 joint) from 93 to 73 inches. The feathers of the throat appear each of them always to have a dark shaft-streak. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, v. pls. 355, 356, 357, 358. The Common Sparrow-Hawk is a resident in all the Japanese Islands. It has frequently been recorded from Yezzo (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 194), and there are fifteen examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. It is also common at Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 183), where the examples obtained by the Siebold Expedition were probably obtained (Tem- minck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 4), and whence a large series has been sent by Mr. Ringer to the Norwich Museum. The range of the Common Sparrow-Hawk extends from the British Islands across Europe and Siberia to Japan. 192. ACCIPITER GULARIS. (CHINESE SPARROW-HAWK.) Astur (Nisus) gularis, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 5 (1845). The Chinese Sparrow-Hawk is smaller than the Common species (wing from carpal joint 84 to 64 inches). It has a line of black streaks down the centre of the throat, which in the female and young male is separated from the moustachial streaks by an unstreaked longitudinal band. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 2; Gurney, Ibis, 1863, pl. 11. The Chinese Sparrow-Hawk was first described in 1845 by Tem- minck and Schlegel, in the ‘ Fauna Japonica.” In 1847 it was re- described from Malacca under the name of Accipiter nisoides (Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xvi. p. 727), and again in 1863 from China as Accipiter stevensoni (Gurney, Ibis, 1863, p. 447). It is found in all the Japanese Islands. The Perry Expedition obtained examples at Hakodadi (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 219), and several examples have been since procured in Yezzo (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 184). There are five examples in the Pryer collection from Fuji-yama, near Yokohama, and there are others in the Norwich Museum obtained by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki (Gurney, Diurnal Birds of Prey, p. 165). 206 SERPENTARII. It is probably only a summer visitor to Japan and China, wintering in the islands of the Malay Archipelago and in the Burma penin- sula. It is very common on migration in October and November in Central Hondo (Jouy, Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 1883, p. 312). Suborder XVII. SERPENTARII. The Secretary Bird may be diagnosed as follows :— Palate desmognathous ; basipterygoid processes present; spinal feather-tract well defined on the neck; deep plantar tendons galline ; oil-gland tufted. This suborder contains only one species, which is only found in the Ethiopian Region. SERPENTARIUS STEGANOPODES. 207 Subclass ANSERIFORMES. The Anseriformes appear to form a natural group of birds which may be diagnosed as follows :— Palate desmognathous ; spinal feather-tract not defined on the neck (either coalesced with the ventral feather-tracts, or replaced by a spinal bare tract); front plantar not leading to the hallux. The Subclass Anseriformes contains two Orders. Order PELECANO-HERODIONES. The Pelicans, the Herons, and their allies possess, of course, the three characters which diagnose the Subclass to which they belong, and in addition possess the following character, which distinguishes them from the Lamellirostres :—the young are born helpless, and require to be fed in the nest by their parents for many days. The Order Pelecano-Herodiones contains three Suborders: Stega- nopodes, Herodiones, and Platalee, each of which is represented in the Japanese Empire. Suborder XVIII STEGANOPODES. Palate desmognathous; no bare tracts on neck; mandible not produced and recurved behind its articulation with the quadrate; no basipterygoid processes ; hallux united to second digit by a web. The number of species which comprise the Steganopodes probably does not much exceed 50. They generally breed in large colonies, which are distributed in the tropical and temperate regions of both hemispheres. They may be grouped in families, which are easily diagnosed by well-marked osteological characters. Eight species are found within the Japanese Empire. 208 STEGANOPODES. 193. PHALACROCORAX CARBO. (COMMON CORMORANT.) Pelecanus carbo, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 216 (1766). Head of Phalacrocorax carbo. § natural size. In the Common Cormorant the bare space on each side of the throat extends behind the gape; and in adult birds the gorget is white, and the scapulars and wing-coverts are bronzy brown margined with black. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, vi. pl. 388. The Common Cormorant appears to be a resident in the Southern Japanese Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 216), but it has been so much confused with Temminck’s Cormorant that its exact range is difficult to determine. There are no skins in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi, but there are two in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. The Perry Expedition found it very common in the Bay of Yedo (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 234), and the _Siebold Expedition obtained it at Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 129). The breeding-range of the Common Cormorant extends from the British Islands across Europe and both Northern and Southern Asia to Japan. It also extends to Australia and the Atlantic coast of North America; but on the Pacific coast of the American continent the Common Cormorant appears to be crowded out by other species, some of which range as far west as Japan. STEGANOPODES. 209 194. PHALACROCORAX CAPILLATUS. (TEMMINCK’S CORMORANT.) Carbo filamentosus vel capillatus, Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 129 (1847). : ‘ iL, Be Head of Phalacrocorax capillatus. 4 natural size. In Temminck’s Cormorant the bare space on each side of the throat does not extend behind the gape; the gorget is profusely streaked with greenish black, and the scapulars and wing-coverts are bronzy green narrowly margined with black. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 83 (adult), pl. 83 B (young). Temminck’s Cormorant is a resident in East China and Japan (Seebohm, Ibis, 1885, p. 271). There are two examples from Amoy inthe Swinhoe collection, one dated February, the other April; there are also two examples from Hakodadi in the same collection pro- cured in winter. I have a third example from Hakodadi collected by Mr. Henson on the 22nd of February, and there is one in the Pryer collection from Sarushima. It was originally described from Nagasaki. Temminck’s Cormorant is a very distinct species. It is a Cormo- rant, having fourteen tail-feathers, but in some respects it resembles a Shag; the scapulars and wing-coverts are bronzy green (not bronzy brown as in the Common Cormorant). The gorget of the latter species is white, but that of Temminck’s Cormorant is profusely streaked with greenish black. Temminck’s Cormorant is slightly the larger bird, and immature examples of the two species may be P 210 STEGANOPODES. distinguished by the difference in the shape of the bare space on the throat: in Temminck’s Cormorant the margin of the feathering extends from the gape at a right angle to the line of the commissure, and meets the margin of the other side at an acute angle, considerably in front of the gape (Seebohm, Ibis, 1885, p. 270). 195. PHALACROCORAX PELAGICUS. (RESPLENDENT SHAG.) Phalacrocorax pelagicus, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. ii. p. 303 (1826). Head of Phalacrocorar pelagicus. & natural size. The Shags have only ten tail-feathers, and the feathers of the back and scapulars are not margined with black. The Resplendent Shag has two crests when adult, and the forehead is always feathered to the base of the bill. Figures: Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, pl. 84 (adult), pl. 84.8 (young) ; misnamed Carbo bicristatus. The Resplendent Shag breeds on the Kurile Islands, and is com- mon on the coast of Yezzo during summer (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p- 211) and probably in winter also. Great numbers visit Tokio Bay in winter, but leave for the north in the spring. I have an example collected by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands, and there are two examples in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi, one of them collected by Captain Blakiston in winter (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 164). I have also two examples from Hakodadi collected by Mr. Henson STEGANOPODES., 211 on the 22nd of February ; and there are two in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. There is also a fine example in the Norwich Museum sent by Mr. Ringer from Nagasaki. These examples agree in their measurements with an example from Kamtschatka and with all the examples from China in the Swinhoe collection, including the type of Phalacrocorar eolus (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1867, p. 395). They average :—wing 11 inches, tail 6 inches, bill from frontal feathers 2 inches, tarsus 24 inches, They are all feathered on the forehead to the base of the bill. The breeding-range of the Resplendent Shag extends from the Kurile Islands and Kamtschatka up to Norton Sound, and across the Aleutian chain to the south coast of Alaska as far south-east as Sitka, 196. PHALACROCORAX BICRISTATUS. (BARE-FACED SHAG.) Phalacrocorax bicristatus, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. ii. p. 301 (1826). Head of Phalacrocorax bicristatus. £ natural size. In the Bare-faced Shag, when adult, the forehead and a con- siderable space round the eye is orange-red and bare of feathers. Young birds are scarcely distinguishable from the young of the Resplendent Shag. Figures: Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, Water-Birds N. Amer. ii. p. 163 (coloured woodcut of head). The Bare-faced Shag was found on the Kurile Islands by Steller, P2 212 STEGANOPODES. though he states that it is rarer there than in Kamtschatka. I have only one example, a female, which has only partially completed its moult into adult plumage, that I can refer to this species. It was collected by Mr. Snow on the Kurile Islands. The crests are well developed, the white plumes on the thighs are appearing, but the wings are in full moult. The forehead is bare of feathers for some distance, and the feathering on the side of the lower mandible runs down in nearly a straight line. | Its range is said to be confined to the North Pacific, where it is supposed to breed on the coasts of Alaska, Kamtschatka, and the intervening islands. 197. SULA LEUCOGASTRA. (BOOBY GANNET.) Pelecanus leucogaster, Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 57 (1783). The Booby Gannet or Common Booby has always pale yellow feet. When adult it is brown all over, except the underparts below the breast, which are white. Immature specimens are brown all over, paler on the head, neck, and underparts. Figures: Gould, Birds of Australia, vii. pl. 78. The Booby Gannet breeds on the Bonin Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 102), and a single example was brought from Japan by the Siebold Expedition (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 131). Captain Rodgers also found it on the Bonin Islands, and brought home an example (with pale yellow feet) from the Eastern Sea, between the Loo-Choo Islands and Formosa, which is recorded under the name of Sula fiber (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1862, p. 325). I have a skin from Peel Island, and an egg from Long Island in the central Bonin group, both collected by Mr. Holst (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p. 107). There is an example in the Norwich Museum sent by Mr. Ringer from Nagasaki, There is an example from Formosa in the Swinhoe collec- tion, and there can be little doubt that Sula sinicadvena (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1865, p. 109), from the coast of China, west of the Loo-Choo Islands, must be referred to this species. It has a very wide range, south- wards to Australia, westwards across the Indian and Atlantic Oceans to the West Indies, and eastwards across the Pacific Ocean. STEGANOPODES. 213 198. SULA PISCATRIX. (RED-FOOTED BOOBY.) Pelecanus piscator, Linneus, Syst, Nat. i. p. 217 (1768). The Red-footed Booby has coral-red feet at all ages. When adult it is white with brown quills; but immature birds are brown all over, slightly paler on the underparts. Figures : Gould, Birds of Australia, vii. pl. 79. The Red-footed Booby has been admitted to the Japanese fauna on the authority of an example in the possession of Mr. Whitely, said to have been collected by Mr. Abel A. J. Gower while Consul in Japan (Blakiston, Amended List of the Birds of Japan, p. 34). I have an example of this species which was caught at sea by Mr. Snow between Japan and the Kruzenstern Rocks, which lie about sixty degrees due east of Formosa. It has occurred on the Philip- pine Islands (Walden, Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 246), and has a very wide range, westwards across the Indian Ocean, southwards to Australia, and eastwards across the Pacific Ocean. 199. PHAETON RUBRICAUDA. (RED-TAILED TROPIC-BIRD.) Phaeton rubricauda, Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 57 (1783). The Red-tailed Tropic-bird is a white bird with a yellow bill and two long red feathers in the tail. Figures : Gould, Birds of Australia, vii. pl. 73. Mr. Holst writes that there is a bunch of the tail-feathers of the Red-tailed Tropic-bird in the Tokio Museum labelled Bonin Islands ; and he was told on the Parry Islands that a white bird with a red tail was common there at certain seasons (Seebohm, Ibis, 1890, p- 107). I have a skin which was procured by Mr. Snow in the spring of 1883 on the Kruzenstern Rocks, about forty degrees to the east of the Bonin Islands. The Red-tailed Tropic-bird frequents the Indian and Pacific Oceans, principally within the tropics. 214 HERODIONES, 200. FREGATA MINOR. (LESSER FRIGATE-BIRD.) Pelecanus minor, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i, p. 572. The Frigate-birds look like small Cormorants with deeply forked tails. Figures : Gould, Birds of Australia, vii. pl. 72. The Lesser Frigate-bird has been once shot at Hakodadi by Consul Quin in October (Seebohm, Ibis, 1884, p. 33). It frequents the Pacific Ocean, principally within the tropics. Suborder XIX. HERODIONES. Palate desmognathous; mandible not produced and recurved behind its articulation with the quadrate ; spinal bare space extending halfway or more up the neck. VENTRAL SPINAL SPACE SPACE. Pterylosis of neck of Ardea cinerea. The Herodiones comprise three families. The Ardeide, containing about eighty species, are almost cosmopolitan, but they are not found in the arctic or antarctic regions. The Scopide contains only one species, which is peculiar to the Ethiopian Region. The Ciconiide HERODIONEs. 215 consist of a score species, and are nearly as cosmopolitan as the Ardeide. Of the 15 Japanese species belonging to the suborder Herodiones, 1 only is peculiar to Japan during the breeding-season; 3 breed in the Eastern Palearctic Region; 5 breed both in the Palearctic and Oriental Regions, one of which breeds also in the Nearctic Region ; whilst 6 may be regarded as exclusively tropical, breeding in the Oriental Region. Genus Arpra.—The typical Herons differ from the Night-Herons (Nycticorax) and agree with the Bitterns (Botaurus) in having the whole of the front of the tarsus covered with wide transverse plates ; but they agree with Nycticoraxz and differ from Botaurus in having twelve tail-feathers, and in having the inner toe shorter than the outer. They differ from both these genera in having the tibia bare of feathers for a greater distance than the length of the hind toe without the claw, but this character is subject to much individual variation. In Ardea garzetta it varies from 1-5 to 2°5 inches, being sometimes longer and sometimes shorter than the length of the inner toe without the claw. In Ardea coromanda it is always shorter than the inner toe, but never so short as the hind toe without the claw. The genus Ardea may be divided into few or many subgenera according to the caprice of the systematist. The Japanese species consist of one typical Heron, five Egrets, and a Reef-Heron; but I know of no generic characters to distinguish one group from another. 201. ARDEA CINEREA. (HERON.) Ardea cinerea, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 286 (1766). The Common Heron is a large grey-backed species like the Purple Heron (which is very likely to occur in Japan), but may be distin- guished from it at all ages by the colour of its forehead and crown, which is slate-grey in young in first plumage, moulting to white in the adult, whilst that of the Purple Heron is russet-brown in the young, moulting to black in the adult. Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, iv. pl. 395. The Common Heron is somewhat sparingly distributed in all the Japanese Islands. There is an example in the Swinhoe collection 216 HERODIONES. from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, p. 335), and there are four examples in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. It also occurs in Nagasaki (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 118) and the Loo-Choo Islands (Cassin, Exp. Am. Squad. China Seas and Japan, ii. p. 244). The examples obtained by Dr. Siebold were doubtless procured at Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 114). The breeding-range of the Common Heron extends from the British Islands, across Europe and Southern Siberia to Japan. It also breeds in India. Chinese and Japanese examples do not appear to differ from European ones, but Dybowski states that Siberian examples have more developed nuptial plumes and redder feet (Taczanowski, Journ. Orn. 1874, p. 333). 202, ARDEA ALBA. (GREAT WHITE EGRET.) Ardea alba, Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 239 (1766). _ The Great White Egret has no nuptial plumes on the head or breast, but in breeding-dress they are well developed on the scapulars. The bill is black in summer and yellow in winter. It is the largest of the Japanese White Egrets (wing from carpal joint 18 to 18} inches). Figures: Dresser, Birds of Europe, vi. pl. 898 (Western race) ; Gray and Hardwicke, Ill. Ind. Zool. ii. pl. 49 (Eastern race, described as Ardea modesta). Both races of the Great White Egret appear to visit Japan, the Eastern race as a common summer visitor, the Western race as a more or less accidental winter visitor. The two races only differ in size. The length of the wing (from carpal joint) of the Western or typical race, Ardea alba, varies from 18 to 1534 inches; that of the Eastern race, Ardea alba modesta, from 154 to 134 inches. The Eastern race of the Great White Egret is a summer visitor to all the Japanese Islands, arriving in Tokio Bay in April. It has been seen on Eturop, the most southerly of the Kurile Islands (Blakiston and Pryer, Trans. As. Soc. Japan, 1882, p. 118); and there is an example in the Swinhoe collection from Hakodadi (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, p. 335). There is an example in the Pryer collection from Tokio ; and it has been collected by Mr. Ringer at Nagasaki. HERODIONES. 217 It is to this race that the Great White Heron procured by Dr. Siebold doubtless at Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. 114) must be referred; and also that procured by Captain Rodgers on the Loo-Choo Islands (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1862, p. 321), which has lately been examined in the Philadelphia Museum (Stejneger, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. 1887, p. 170). The Eastern race of the Great White Heron breeds in Southern Siberia, and in India, Burma, and China. A large form of the Great White Egret, with a length of wing varying from 16} to 174 inches, has occurred several times in Japan. Dr. Stejneger gives the measurements of one example from Yezzo and two from Tokio; and Captain Blakiston mentions three others from Yokohama, all obtained in winter, and all with yellow bills. I have not had an opportunity of examining any of these skins, but feel little doubt as to the species to which they should be referred. They agree apparently with the winter plumage of the Western form of A. alba, and it is scarcely possible that they can be examples of A, egretta from America, or of A. syrmatophora from Australia and New Zealand. The length of the bill (42 to 5 inches from frontal feathers) and of the tarsus (64 to 8 inches) appears to be too great for either the American or Australian species, so that the evidence seems to be strongly in favour of regarding these large Japanese Egrets as examples of the western race of Ardea alba, which have wandered eastwards in winter. So far as I know, none of the other Egrets named ever have the tarsus as much as 7 inches long. 203. ARDEA INTERMEDIA. (PLUMED EGRET.) Ardea intermedia, Wagler, Isis, 1829, p. 659. The Plumed Egret is fairly entitled to the name given it by Gould. In breeding-plumage the dorsal plumes frequently extend six inches or more beyond the tail, and the pectoral plumes are often six inches long, and disintegrated like those of the scapulars. The combination of these two characters with the absence of nuchal plumes is found in no other Japanese Heron. The bill in summer is always more or less dark at the point and yellow at the base of both mandibles. In winter the bill is entirely yellow, a character sufficient to distinguish 218 HERODIONES. it from A. garzetta. Its length of wing from the carpal joint, which varies from 114 to 123 inches, distinguishes it from