54 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



It is remarkable that MacGillivray, who was acquainted 

 with the bird in the Outer Isles, and the author of a History 

 of British Birds, which contains the most particular account 

 of its plumage ever written, should make no mention of this 

 variation in the dress of these island Song-thrushes ; though 

 he tells us that the bird is associated in his memory with the 

 Hebrides, where its song " is poured forth from the summit 

 of some granite block, shaggy with gray lichens." 



Though I have examined numerous specimens from 

 various parts of the Hebrides during recent years, and have 

 compared them with large series of specimens from various 

 parts of Great Britain and the Continent, and have long 

 been impressed with the differences exhibited, yet I have 

 hitherto hesitated to raise this island Song - thrush to the 

 status of racial rank, and to endow it with a name. I had 

 hoped that others more entitled to do so, from longer general 

 knowledge of the bird, would, ere this, have undertaken this 

 pleasing and necessary task ; however, it has not come to 

 pass, so at last I have yielded to suggestions frequently 

 made to me by a number of ornithologists, and now venture 

 to describe the bird. 



The Hebridean Song-thrush, for which I propose the name 

 Turdus musicus hebridensis, is decidedly darker in its plumage 

 generally than any of the British or Continental representa- 

 tives of the species. The mantle and wings are dark (clove) 

 brown, the head slightly redder, and the rump and upper tail- 

 coverts dark olive. Thus the upper plumage of the Hebridean 

 bird more resembles that of the Continental race than that 

 of its British cousin. The most striking feature of the under 

 surface, and indeed of the plumage generally, is the multitude 

 of intense black, ovate spots on the throat, chest, and 

 abdomen (see Plate I.) ; while the buff, which is confined to 

 the throat and chest, is very pale as compared with Song- 

 thrushes from other areas. The flanks are pronouncedly 

 streaked with greyish-brown, and show little of the buff 

 which is much in evidence on the flanks and breast of other 

 Song-thrushes. The buff of the under wing-coverts is richer 

 (redder) than in other specimens with which I have compared 

 them. The wing-measurements range from 116 to 120 mm. 



