CONTINENTAL RACIAL FORMS, ETC. 125 



bird; the light edgings to the tail feathers are much lighter, 

 more sandy than in P. t. kibernaiis. Underneath it is much 

 paler and more sandy, the black on the throat is much less 

 extensive and is heavily obscured by cream-coloured tips to 

 the feathers. The white patch on the wing is very indistinct, 

 and inclines to cream, and there are sandy edgings to all 

 the wing feathers. Truth to tell, at first sight the Indian 

 Stonechat looks more like a Whinchat than a Stonechat. 



The Continental Redbreast {Erithacus nibecula 

 rubeculd) breeds in Europe generally, and West Siberia 

 to West Turkestan. It is a passage migrant along the 

 east coast of Scotland, has Qccurred at the Mull of Galloway, 

 and is a winter visitor to Shetland, and doubtless also in 

 other parts of Scotland, but definite records are wanted. It 

 differs from our common Britisli bird in being lighter, 

 more greyish green on the upper side, the red of the throat 

 is much paler, less rust-coloured, the rusty brown on the 

 sides of body is lighter and less extensive, and there is 

 more white on the under side. The under wing-coverts 

 are brownish cream or whitish (those of E. r. niclophilus 

 are rusty yellow spotted at the edge with rusty red), under 

 tail-coverts brownish white (pale rust in E. r. inclopJiihis). 

 The bill is thinner and lighter in the Continental bird. We 

 have seen large numbers of the Continental Redbreast 

 on the Isle of May, and have always been struck by its 

 extreme wildness. When one of our native Robins visits 

 the island it frequents the gardens and is a tame and 

 friendly visitor ; the typical form, on the other hand, keejDs 

 away from the houses, and is generally among the rocks and 

 rough grass on the island, taking covert in holes, cracks of 

 rocks, etc., etc. We have known them to arrive so tired 

 that they died from sheer exhaustion and starvation. 



But few specimens of the Hedge Sparrow have been 

 examined, so records of the type, in Scotland, are meagre. 

 The typical Hedge Sparrow {Prunella inodularis vwdularis) 

 breeds in Europe generally, and is known to occur on 

 passage at the Isle of May, in Orkney and Shetland, and the 

 Outer Hebrides, and doubtless does so elsewhere on our 

 coasts. In the type the second primary is always noticeably 



