( 339 ) 



himself recently declared his affinis to be a synonym of Tickell's Ph. affinis, but 

 this is qnite an error. I have examined the type and other specimens from Ta- 

 tsien-ln, and they certainly belong to subaffinis, and not to Ph. affinis Tick. 



Among the synonyms of Phylloscopus affinis, in the Cat. B. Brit. Mm. v. 

 p. 65, figures also Abrornis acanthizoides Yerreaux (JS t oud. Arch. Mus. Paris, Bull. 

 vi. p. 37, 1870). This bird was placed in the genus Oreopneuste by David and 

 Onstalet (Ois. Chine, p. 266). Unfortunately, it is neither an Abrornis nor a 

 Phylloscopus, but an eastern form of Horornis brunnescens. In fact, it is so closely 

 allied to II. brunnescens that many ornithologists will not hesitate in placing it as 

 a synonym of the latter, but, at the same time, the bill is slightly smaller, and the 

 under surface more tinged with lemon yellow in Chinese examples, than in true 

 Himalayan brunnescens, and therefore we must recognise two subspecies, //. brun- 

 nescens brunnescens, from the Himalayas, and //. brunnescens acanthizoides, nesting 

 in the Tsin-ling Mountains, and occurring — at least in the winter — as far south 

 as Fokien. 



Phylloscopus sindianus is a very little known form, described by the pains- 

 taking and careful Brooks from winter-specimens obtained in Sind. Pleske referred 

 also Caucasus examples to Ph. sindianus, but in error. Ph. sindianus is only with 

 difficulty separable from tristis,* and is the form found in the Kwen-ltin. The 

 birds nesting in the Caucasus are Ph. lorenzii Lorenz (described from Sewertzow's 

 MS.), and, having no yellow on the under wing-coverts, are considered by me as 

 a subspecies of neglectus. I have long hesitated whether neglectus and lorenzii were 

 not to be placed as subspecies of the collybita group, but it is said that a form of 

 collybita {abietina), as well as one of neglectus (i.e. lorenzii), breed together in the 

 Caucasus. This forbids our concluding that they represent each other geographi- 

 cally, and consequently I must adopt the course taken in my book, where I 

 recognised the following forms : 



Phylloscopus colhjbita collybita : Western and Southern Europe generally. 



Phijlloscopus collybita abietina : Scandinavia and East Europe generally. 



Phylloscopus collybita tristis : Petshora, Ural and Siberia. 



Phylloscopus collybita sindianus : Kwen-liin Mountains. 



Phylloscopus collybita canariensis : Western Canary Islands. 



Phylloscopus collybita exsul : Lanzarote. 

 On the other hand : 



Phylloscopus neglectus neglectus : Trauscaspia, Buchara, and Persia. 



Phylloscopus neglectus lorenzii : Caucasus. 



* By an oversight sindianus is, in my book, separated from tristis by two Canarian forms. 



(7*0 be continued.) 



