March, 191 2. The Irish Naturalist. 49 



SOME BIRDS NEW TO IRELAND. 



BY PROFESSOR C. J. PATTEN, M.A., M.D., SC.D 



(plate I.). 



When staying at the Tuskar Rock Lighthouse during 

 last September and part of October, I obtained three species 

 of birds which heretofore have not been inchided in the 

 Irish hst. The date of the first capture was September 

 I2th. On a cursory examination I took the specimen 

 to be an immature Yellow Wagtail, otherwise known as 

 Ray's W^agtail (Motacilla Rati) ; however, though it may 

 be difficult to distinguish this species from an immature 

 Blue-headed W^agtail (M . -ftava), I am bound to say that 

 I am strongly of opinion that my specimen belongs to the 

 latter species. The white eye-stripe, present at all ages, 

 is perhaps the best mark by which a typical example of this 

 species can be distinguished from the Yellow Wagtail. 

 In my specimen this feature is pronounced. Were one 

 dealing with one of the several representative forms, 

 (ranked even as different species by some ornithologists) 

 of the Blue -headed Wagtail, in which the eye -stripe is 

 absent or but ill-defined, the matter would be much more 

 difficult to decide. In my specimen the typical white chin 

 and throat and the very pale yellowish-white abdominal 

 feathers follow the plumage of the Blue-headed, rather 

 than that of the Yellow W^agtail. Moreover, my specimen 

 displays the yellowish -white tips on both the greater and 

 lesser wing-coverts, producing thereby the double wing- 

 bar, as well as another important plumage -marking, namely, 

 a fairly broad black band on the inner web of the two outei 

 rectrices of either side, the remaining portion of these 

 feathers being white. In the corresponding feathers of the 

 Yellow Wagtail the white is merely edged with black on the 

 inner webs. Many other details in the plumage, un- 

 necessary to mention here, afford evidence that the specimen 

 in question is a Blue-headed Wagtail. Provisionally then, 

 I propose to designate it as such, hoping at the same time to 



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