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MISCELLANEA ORNITHOLOGICA. 



CRITICAL, NOMENCLATORIAL, AND OTHER NOTES, MOSTLY ON 



PALAE ARCTIC BIRDS. 



By ERNST HARTERT, Pn.D. 

 I. 



DURING the progress of mj- work on the birds of the jialaearctic famia, 1 have 

 coiue across varions facts which seem to require longer explanations— 

 too long to be embodied in a handbook. Some of them are criticisms and 

 corrections of the " Catalogne of Birds." This does not, of course, mean that 

 I despise that greatest of all ornithological works, but, on the contrary, that 

 I consider it so important that every little error is worth pointing out, since 

 that series of volumes is daily used by hundreds of ornithologists in all civilised 

 countries. 



1. CARPODACUS THURA and its subspecies. 

 In Cat. B. xii. pp. 425, 427, Dr. Sharpe has recognised two " species," 

 Carpoclacus thura and C. flubius, placing C. {Propasser) bh/thi as a synonym of the 

 latter. There are, however, three subspecies, which may be distinguished as 

 follows : — 



(?. The rosy supercilinm and rosy sides of the head separated by a very wide 

 deep brown stripe, npperside deeper brown. ? . Foreneck and chest 

 rnfons Ilab. : Himalayas from Nepal to Sikkim. C. thum thura Bj). 

 & Schl. 

 (?. The rosy supercilinm and rosy sides of the head separated by a narrow 

 but still distinct deep brown stripe, npperside a little lighter brown. 

 ¥ . Foreneck and chest also rnfons, but a little paler. Ilab. : Gilgit, 

 N. Cashmere. C. tlnira bli/thi Bidd. 

 (?. The rosy supercilinm and sides of the head not at all separated, npperside 

 paler brown. ?. Whole underside whitish, not at all rnfons. [lab.: 

 Ala-shan, Kansn, and Setchnan. C. thura dubius Przew. 



2. The proper name of HAEMATOSPIZA SIPAHI. 

 The bird at present known as Haematospiza sipaki should be called Haemato- 

 spiza indica (Gm.). The names 



Loxia indica Gmelin, Si/st. Nat. i. p. 847 (1780— ex Seba, Brisson, Latham, 



hab. " India "), and 

 Loxia boctonensis Latham, Ind. Orn. p. 377 (1790— ex Seba, hab. "India 

 insnla Boetoneuse ") 

 are not mentioned in the " Catalogne of Birds," nor elsewhere in recent ornitho- 

 logical nomenclature. The two names arc based on Seba, who (i. pi. 60, fig. 4) 

 figures an entirely red bird with tbe bill oi Haematospiza. It is true that his bird 

 has a long crest, Imt that crest is of snch a peculiar shape, and so forced, that we 

 may safely accept thiit it was a falsification. Seba gives as locality the island ot 

 Boeton (= Baton). As no snch bird occurs iu the Celebesian region, it is not very 



