NOVITATES ZOOLOQICAE XXV. 1918. 333 



3 iS7. utucasicus caucasicus with abnormally much bronze on wing. 



1 ,, ,, ,, with too much green on whig. 



I „ ,, „ with too much green on abdomen. 



1 ,, „ ,, with too much green on wing and purple back. 



1 St. caucasicus satunini with too much blue on wing. 



1 ,, „ ,, with abnormally purple abdomen. 



I „ „ ,, with abnormallj' purple wing. 



The remarkable fact that 152 starlings shot at Talysh belong to five sub- 

 species of three species, that 22 are " hybrids " and 23 " abnormal," would be 

 extraordinary, but the fact probably is that they really belong to two forms only, 

 or possibly three, Buturlin's caucasicus and satunini being luidoubtedly one 

 and the same thing, as also his interniedius and jitkowi probably are. Loudon 

 marked several StarUngs from observation as " Brutstare," meaning that they 

 belonged to the form breeding in Talysh, but he afterwards cast doubt on his 

 own observations, because Buturhn named them " St. caucasicus caucasicus " 

 and '■ satunini." Of course Loudon's notes were quite correct, and S. vulgaris 

 ciiucnsicus breeds in Talysh, as satunini is the same ! (Cf. Baron Harald Loudon, 

 Annuairc Mus. Zool. Acad. Sc. St. Petersbourg, xviii. 1913. p. 464.) 



Sturnus vulgaris caucasicus Lor. 



lilurmis caucasicus Loreiiz, Bcitr. Orn. Fauna Cauras. p. 9. p\. v. tig. I (1887 — Caucasus, typical 



locality Kislowodsk). 

 Stunius poUoralzkt/i sattmini Buturliii, Orn. Jahrb. 1904. p. 207 (In summer at Kislowodsk, in 



winter Lenkoran). 



This form breeds in the northern and southern Caucasus, near Lenkoran 

 and Talysh, and in the mountains of Persia down to Shiraz, in winter even at Fao. 

 There can be no doubt that satunini is a sj'nonym. 



Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi Fmsch. 



Cf. Vog. pal. Fauna, p. 44. 



Sturnus -poltaralshji Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1878. p. 713 (Lake Marka-Kul, 5,000 feet 

 high, in the Chinese Altai. Named after " General Poltaratzsky," the specific name, however, 

 spelt as above). 



Sturnus Poltoratzkyi id., Verh. K.-ZooL, hot. Ges. Wien. xxlx. p. 202 (1880 — Marka-Kul. This time 

 named after " General Poltoratzky." Probably the author had found out that his friend's 

 name was originally spelt wrong by him, but lie should have done so before, and the original 

 spelling must be preserved, even if the general's name should be correctly spelt in a tliird way, 

 and 1 understand that it does allow of at least one more transliteration). 



Sturnus menzhieri Sharps, Ibis 1888. p. 438 ("Asia Minor, Persia, is the Starling of Krasnoyarsk, 

 where Seebohm found it, Afghanistan, India to Assam." Type locality : Krasnoyarsk : 

 Hartert 1903 !). 



Sharpe quite misunderstood this form. Of the 22 specimens enumerated 

 in Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xiii. p. 36 (1890) as poltaratskyi, only 4 are this subspecies, 

 i.e. the type from Marka-Kul, a male from Kuldscha, and the two Indian speci- 

 mens from Murdan and " N.W. India." The one from Cyprus is jmrqmrascens , 

 the Caucasus one caucasicus, the other 18 nobilior, whiclt Sharpe united with 

 poltaratskyi. The great number of Indian winter specimens of the latter were 

 enumerated on p. 34, under '' menzhieri.'' This last was separated on accoimt 

 of the lesser amount of purple on the wing-coverts, but this character is quite 



