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MISCELLANEA ORNITHOLOGICA. 



('lilTK'AL, NOMENCLATOKIAL, AND OTHER NOTES, MOSTLY ON 

 PALAEARCTIC BIRDS AND THEIR ALLIES. 



By Dr. ERNST HARTERT. 



Part V.* 



Acrocephalus inexpectatus Ber. & Biamlii = A. arundinaceus orientalis. 



IN the Annuaire du Mus. Zool. St. Petcrsb. v. p. 210 (1900) Messrs. Berezowski 

 and Bianchi described a Reed-Warbler from Southern Kausu under the name 

 of A. inexpectatus. Through the kindness of my friend Dr. Bianchi I have been 

 able to examine the type-specimen. It needed only a glance to perceive that the 

 example is a young bird of the year. The fluffy condition of the feathers of the 

 back, rump, and underside, and the russet-brown, somewhat spotty colour of 

 the upper surface prove beyond doubt that the bird is quite young. The authors 

 state tliat their type is an "adult female." It is strange how they conld have 

 made such a mistake. The end of the tail is entirely worn off — a thing which is 

 of common occurrence in young birds, which have softer rectrices than old ones, 

 and the tail can therefore not be measured with any attempt at accuracy ; the 

 anthors give the length of the tail as .58 mm., adding, "Tips of longer feathers 

 greatly injured." On the back are to be seen two or three feathers of the first 

 autnmn plumage. I have before me a female from Amnr Bay (17. viii. 1894) in 

 almost the same plumage as the type of A. inexpectatus, except that most of the 

 head is already covered with the featliers of the first autumn plumage, and tliat 

 some more such feathers are out on the back. 



The wing of tlie type of ^1. inexpectatus is 7U mm. long, which is the 

 measurement of smaller females of A. arundinaceus oiientalis, in which the wing 

 varies from 76 to 80 mm. Moreover, Southern Kansu is within the range of 

 A. a. orientalis. There can therefore be no doubt that A. inexpectatus is a synonym 

 of ^1. a. orientalis. 



On the Genus Scotocerca. 



In the Bull. B. 0. Club xxi. p. 98 (May 1908) Mr. M. J. Nicoll described 

 as a new subspecies a Grass- Warbler, of which he obtained specimens in the 

 Wadi Hof, near Cairo, in Egypt. In his description he compared his supposed 

 new form only with Scotocerca inquieta saharae from Algeria and Tunis. Un- 

 fortunately Mr. Nicoll has fallen into an error in considering thi.s form to be 

 unnamed, for it has had already three names ! 



In 1826 Cretzschmar described it as " Malurus inquietus" from the Sinai 

 Peninsula. In 1828 Hemprich and Ehrenberg named it " Curruca Jamula," from 



* For Part I. see JVuv. Zool. 1904. pp. 456-GO; for Part II., Nov. Zool. 1905. pp. 497-503 ; fur Part III., 

 Nov. Zool. 1906. pp. 386-405; for Part IV.. Xov. Zool. 1907. pp. 3.35-39. 



