( 474 ) 



We liiivo pxaniined the fyjies of ].. elaeuffiii kindly lent by Dr. Snsclikin. 

 1 am doubtful if this bird is really a species distinet from L. mildei or 

 merely a stage of ])lumaj!;e. It seems im])robabIe that two sucli clusely allied forms, 

 if really distinct, sluinld be found associuting tugether in the same locality. 



In support of the above, we may briefly mention the localities wliere the types 

 (li'cach (if the sujiposed species were dlilnined : - 



L. hogdnnoici ..... Astrabad, N. Persia. 



L. raddi'i ...... Kulkulais, Transcasjn'a. 



L. e.laeiKjiii ...... Kiver Emba, Kirgliiz Sfejipes. 



A. injii.fculiis ..... J;ake Zaissan. 



L. dic/troiirti.i ..... Kenderlik River. 



Tlirough the kindness of Dr. IJianciii we have been able to examine typical 

 s]i('cimens of /,. {'/netic/iii, I,, infii.sciitiix, and J,, dicliroiini.'i, all obtained on the 

 Kenderlik River by Kolomeitzow, and this fact seems to strengtlien the supjiositiou 

 that all are phases of j)lumage of one species, but more material is reipiired to 

 form any definite conclusion. 



Ilcib. Ranging from tlie Kirghiz Steppes to Lake Zaissan and the Kenderlik 

 River, and south-west to Astrabad and North Persia. 



39. Lanius vittatus. 



" Bay-backed .Shrike" Lath., Geii. Hist. B. ii. p. V?, (182-2) (Ciiwnpur). 



Limiiis i-'itliiliis Valenc., Did. Sci. X,il. xl. p. 227 (1820) (Pondicherry) ; Gadow, t. c. p. 28U. 



Culliirio hirdwirl-ii Vigors., P. Z. .S., 18:il, p. 42 (Himahiyas). 



Ltinius niiirynritiiceiis Lessoa ; fiile Giebel., Tins. Orn. ii. p. 441 (187.'>). 



Adult male and female in freshly moulted plumaye. — Forehead, fore])art of 

 crown, lores, feathers above and below the eye and eai'-coverts deej) black, hinder 

 part of crown whitish, shading in grey on the nape and hind-neck ; back rich 

 chestnut ; rump and upper tail-coverts whitish, the latter inclining to grey ; chin, 

 throat, and under jiarts white, tinged witli bnff and washed with light chestnut on 

 the sides and tlanks ; wings black, the primaries largely white towards the base 

 and forming a conspicuous sj)eculum . middle tail-feathers black, outermost jiair 

 pure white, third to fifth pairs with a snbtei'minal black patch, the black gradually 

 diminishing towards the ontside of the tail ; in some examples the fifth pair are 

 white like the outer pair, or show scarcely a trai'c of black. 



Total length ca. T-.') in. : wing 3-2— 3-3, tail :i-:i, tarsus tl-il. 



Immature birds in the first ]ilunnige are like pale examples of the adult, the 

 fcirchead being black mixed with grey, tlie back pale reddish brown, and the sides 

 luid flanks whitish, with very little trace of rufous ; the white at the base of the 

 j)rimary quills is less developed ; the wing-(»verts are margined with rufuns butt ; 

 the outer tail-feathers are white, with a subterminal blotch of dusky, tinged with 

 rnfiius ; the subterminal jiortions of the tail-feathers are less deep black, with a 

 submarginal /\ -shaped band of black. 



In still //ou/u/er e.ramjde.s the featliers of tlie breast have indistinct dusky 

 markings and bais ; the wing-coverts and innermost secondaries are mostly rufous 

 bnlf on the outer web and marked with a snbraargiiuil black band ; and the tail- 

 feathers are jiale dull rnfiius, the (luterniost ]iair nnirgined with whitish. 



//'(/;. India, ranging south to Mysore, iKirtli to Cashmere and Sikliirn, and 

 westwards to Baluchistan and Afghanistan. 



